Naruko the Gamer Kunoichi
by Azuredragon27
Summary: A new era is about to begin as a small girl wakes up to the yells of a fairy offering a power that can give her the chance to become a legend. Today is the world will learn what happens when you make video game logic rule over reality. [Strong Naruko but not godlike at the start. Main Pairing NaruHina (yuri) but Ino will join them. Reviews and comments are welcomed!]
1. Wake up Naruko!

**Chapter 1: Wake up Naruko!**

It was early morning in Konohagakure and to many of its inhabitants, this day appeared to be like any other. Parents were waking up to make breakfast for their young, ninjas were getting their gear ready for another day for hard work, birds were singing and shops were tacking integratory before they would open. Truly for many this looked to be another ordinary day however this day was going to be a little different for a single young twelve-year-old whisker blond girl.

This small girl named Uzumaki Naruko who was currently sleeping in her bed completely oblivious of a new path that was about to open before her. However, the loud beeping of the blonde's alarm clock was soon to rectify this, much the girl's charging. In response, the kunoichi in training growled and raised her hand to look for the infernal machine. Once found it was off the girl tried back to sleep only for the alarm to start up again.

Immediately her hand turned it off again only for it to once more beep. This little event happened only two more times before she grabbed it and threw it out the window. The ANBU stationed outside Naruko's apartment saw the clock sail and perfectly nail a genin that was in pursuit of Tora and dose costing them the capture, not to mention swiftly getting attack by the said cat.

"Nice throw." the ANBU announce with a small nod, after all, it wasn't his problem that the genin wasn't ready to dodge an unexpected attack in friendly territory. One needs to be ready for anything that could happen in their line of work.

Back in the Uzumaki's apartment said kunoichi to be was once more was wrapped in her blanket and trying to sleep. Yet for some reason, she started feeling something pulling at her covers but with a swift roll to the side whatever was pulling stoped.

"WAKE UP!"

"AH!" the whiskered girl screamed while falling out of bed and landed face-first onto the floor. Groaning at the sudden influx of pain she grabbed her face while pulling the bedsheet off of her. "Ow. What in all of the Kamis was that?"

"That would be me Uzumaki Naruko."

"Huh?" the girl questioned while she blinked at the sound of the voice. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she looked in front of her and blinked again.

Right now, floating in front of her was honest to goodness fairy with her hand on her hips. The creature was just 7 inches tall wearing red sandals and burnt orange battle kimono. On her back was a pair of pixelated butterfly wings moving too slow as if to keep her afloat up but for each moment they made small blue pixelated dust that disappeared halfway pas her knees. The fairy also had brilliant shoulder-length red hair been held above her blue eyes by a white headband.

"Okay, I know from experience that the fall I just took wasn't enough to give me a concussion and since my head does hurt a little, I know this is not a dream," Naruko commented while scratching her head. "So, could you mind telling me who and what are you?" she added while looking at the pretty creature floating in front of her.

"Currently I do not possess a proper name. As for what I am, my classification is that of Navigation Assistant Virtual Intelligence or a Navi for short." the fairy responded with a friendly smile.

"Why is Navi not your name?" the small child questioning while tilting her head in confusion. After all, she didn't know of anyone that never had a proper name.

"Are you called human?" the winged female questioned with a raised eyebrow. At the girl's shake of the head, she continued. "Nonetheless could it be possible for you to give me a proper name? You are my owner after all." she requested which got a sour look out of the Uzumaki.

"Owner? But I haven't bought anything! Let alone a cute little fairy!" Naruko argued without noticing the fairy's blush at the last compliment. "And I don't like the idea of owning someone either," she added with a frowned and crossed her arm to look angrier. The two actions cause the little redhead to chuckle lightly.

"My creator was correct. You can be funny." the Navi commented with a slight grin before shaking her head and becoming serious again. "However, I guess owning does sound like I would be your slave doesn't. How about we consider me your assistant then?" she suggested and the blond nodded.

"Okay. But what are you really and why are you here? Also, what this about a creator? Are you saying you were made by someone and not born? And now that I think about why am I not more freaked out about all of this?" the whiskered quickly asked with a confused frown. At this, the nameless fairy blinked in surprise.

"Wow, so many questions. You're not such a dumb blonde it seems."

"Hey!"

"Oops, sorry about." apologized the floating female while scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "However, for us to proceed I need you to give me a name." she requested again.

"Why?"

"Just do it please."

Naruko noted that even if the fairy had said please, she sounded rather annoyed and that twitching in her eye was very telling too. Hence, she started to think of a name for the winged creature but she couldn't come up with any besides Navi. Then she took a better look at the fairy but she kept getting mesmerized by how pretty she looked and her brilliant red hair. The whiskered female blink as a name finally came to mind.

"How about Benihime?" she suggested. What followed surprised the blond since the fairy suddenly became stiff as her eyes turned a dull blue and her voice became mechanical.

[From this moment on this unit will answer by the name Benihime. Do wish it to be so or will you choose another?] the red-haired female questioned and Naruko raised an eyebrow but answered nonetheless.

Then to the Uzumaki's surprise, a light blue panel appeared before her with [YES/NO] on it. This made the girl blink in curiosity before touch the [NO] option. To her surprise, she could feel the button being pressed. This was followed by the clicking sound as Benihime's eyes shinnied brightly before returning to their normal blue color. Then she blinked twice and gave her mistress a full smile filled with appreciation.

"Thank you for giving me my name Naruko-sama." Benihime said while bowing to the Uzumaki who blushed. After all, it was rare for someone to look at her with sure a big smile let alone thank her with a bow. Next Benihime raised her head and said "Now as for your questions: My creator is a being that got bored and decided to mess with the human world a little bit. However, my creation and by consequence his gift to you put them in a lot of hot water. So do not expect them to try to mess with your world directly again for another 1000 years or so."

"Wait. You were created by something and they gave you to me? Why?"

"Because they taught it would be fun." the Navi responded with a shrug and crossed her arms. "Anyway, as for why none of this is affecting you as one would expect I imagine it's because of the gift we are giving you is already affecting you."

"And what gift is that anyway if I may ask?" Upon being asked this Benihime raised her nose and gave a small smirk. Then with a grand flourish of the hand started her announcement.

"A new and never before seen Bloodline Limit in this world or at least this particular version." then paused for dramatic effect. "The Gamer Soul."

"Wow" Naruko responded with eyes sparkling with wonder. "What's a bloodline limit?" she then asked in total confusion. How to girl managed to keep her voice full of childlike wonder during Benihime would never know but it did make her sweat-drop harder.

"Didn't they teach that at the academy?" Beni asked with a raised eyebrow. When the Uzumaki shook her head negatively the fairy could only sigh before she proceeded to explain. "A bloodline limit is a special ability or power unique to one clan like for example the Uchiha's Sharingan, the Hyuga's Byuakugan or the Aburame's control over bugs to name a few."

"Awesome! Does that mean I some super-duper-mega-awesome-cool power!"

"Yes and no." the fairy smirked at the girls' confused look. "The Gamer Soul will turn your life and world you live in into that of a video. Like, say that Dragon Questor Final Fantasy you have in your NES. However, unlike your video games there are no checkpoints, save points, or resets. If you die that's it for both of us, got it."

"Okay, so does that mean real-life rules would still apply to me even though I would technically be playing a game?"

"Actually, yes and no. Some rules like that need to eat, sleep, going to the toilet, and bathing still apply to you like every other human but other rules like maybe bleeding to death or being poisoned will not. Heck, you won't even receive true Fatal Vows just like almost all videogame characters hence no dying to a stab through the heart or getting behead unless an attack specifies it. Adding to this even limb lost would be trivial thanks to regeneration magic/potions or things like automail."

"What's automail?"

"In its most basic form automail is the science of giving people back their limbs through the use of mechanical prosthetics." the little redhead asked before summoning a new blue panel with the [YES/NO] options. "Now, do you wish to accept this new power?"

Naruko almost immediately presses the [Yes] button but she stopped thinking about it. Many people like to call her lots thing two of which her idiot or implosive. First of all, she wasn't an idiot! She just had trouble learning things because no one ever bothered to teach her how to read or write properly. Thankfully her games were easy to understand and it helped that she could sometimes just brute force her way to some of the problems or puzzles in them if she didn't understand what the hints said.

Second, as for the implosive thing?!

…

…

…

Okay, she admits that most of the time she is but still! If she put her mind to it Naruko Uzumaki could think things through. Hence, she thought of all that was taught to her and started weight the pros against the cons of the situation. Frankly, she couldn't see a possible negative here she was already overwhelmed by all of the positives like seeing all of her stats, being able to manipulate them, possibly learning new skills, gaining XP, getting level ups and so much more! So, with a big grin, she pressed the [YES] option and once more heard the _click_.

Then the world went black.

* * *

[Stand by]

[Installing process for Game Soul beginning now…]

[Installation… 10%]

[Installation… 25%]

[Installation… 45%]

[Installation… 75%]

[Installation… 100%]

[Gamer Soul installation successful. The process for loading the user interface and the WORLD will begin shortly. Please stand by…]

[Loading… 0%]

[Loading… 25%]

[Loading… 50%]

[Loading… 75%]

[Loading… 100%]

[The WORLD has successfully loaded. We hope you enjoy the start of your new journey PLAYER!]

* * *

With that completed her world pixelated itself back to reality as if nothing had ever happened. She didn't know how long the whole process was but her eyes burned as a result. The whiskered youth tried to blink the pain away. Once that was done, she opened her eyes again which let her see the new additions to her sights on the upper left side of her vision.

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv 1] ~ Trickster Queen ~

XP: 0/99

HP: 50/50

MP: 1,305/1,305

"What the heck?" Naruko explained when she saw the numbers. "Why I am at level 1!? And why do I that much MP from that start?"

"Well this is a surprise." a voice said. That made the Uzumaki girl look to her front and once more came face to face with the fairy. There she noticed that the navy's name appeared over her head alongside the title ~Assistant~ but Beni for some reason did not possess a level nor an HP or MP bar. "Please bring up your Status Screen. You only need to think about it and it will show up," she instructed to her mistress.

Following the orders, the gamer closed her eyes and imagined the character status screen that she had seen in some of her RPGs. It didn't even take a second for her to feel that screen _pop up_. Opening up her eyes, sure enough, another light blue screen with white letters was floating in front of her with that data. It even had other tabs that were classified as [Equipment], [Skills], [Inventory], [Books], [Crafting], [Key Items] and two strange one labeled [Records] and [Settings]. As she started to read Benihime sat on her shoulder to read alongside her.

* * *

**{PLAYER STATUS}**

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv 1]

Title: Trickster Queen [+]

JOB: Novice [+]

Race: Human [+]/? [+]

XP: 0/99

HP: 50/50

MP: 1,305/1,305

Attack: 001

Defense: 001

Agility: 001

Vitality: 001

Intelligence: 001

Spirit: 251

Perception: 001

Luck: 666 ~ 777 [+]

Style: 010

Attribute Points: 010

* * *

"Yep, it's just how I imagined it was going to be. All of your stats and level were reset to 1 except for a few special ones." Benihime explained and added "Also, you didn't have to close your eyes for that. Just thinking about it would have been enough. Anyway, for now, I suggest for you look at those [+] since it will provide more information."

Following the suggestion, she pressed the first [+] which was next to her title.

* * *

**Title: Trickster Queen**

Description – SURPRISE! No matter what was happening before or how concentrated they were on you they never expected you to do that! This title is given to those that specialize in using tricks or plans to fool their opponents and targets.

Surprise attack +15%

Trap making success +15%

Infiltration Tool making success +5%

Trap success +20%

**JOB: Novice**

Description – Congratulation on starting your journey adventure! Right now, you're the lowest rank of all. No one knows you or believes that you will amount to anything but don't let that stop you! Keep fighting, doing quests, and meeting new people. Your adventure to becoming a legend starts now!

Can learn basic field skills

Can learn basic production skills

Can learn basic white magic

Can learn basic black magic

Can learn basic weapon skills

Can evolve into any Job

**Race: Human**

Description – A creature that climbed to the top of the food chain through its tenacity, perseverance, and ability to make tools. Even though humans do not have claws or sharp teeth the make excellent hunters for their capacity to stalk their prey until they are exhausted, by snaring them in inventive traps/plans or working together in large groups. This creature is every social thus they need a connection with others to not fall into madness. However, be careful not all are trustworthy and they will fight for what they want so fighting may happen between them from time to time.

(Any) Toolmaking success +25%

Can learn skills from books

Can master skills through practice

Can become stronger through practice

Can train animals into allies

Can create bonds with others

Every level gives 1AP to all stats

**Race:?**

Description–?

Starts with 250 more spirit

Each level up gives +5spirit

Give access 2nd chakra gauge

Anger can fill 2nd chakra gauge

?

?

?

?

?

?

**Passive Skill: Lady Luck's blessed curse [Max Lv]**

Description – Well, will you look at that? Seems our dear Lady Luck has decided to give you a little bit of her love. I fear for any casino owner who is unlucky enough to have you step into their place of business. But be careful, the Lady may like you now but she can be very fickle.

Gambling game success +100%

Special events +35%

Rare-encounters +15%

Ultra-rare encounters +5%

Dangerous encounters +15%

Extremely dangerous encounters +5%

A chance for mission danger RankUP +45%

* * *

"Okay, the unknow one explains the insane MP stat but I wish I knew just what it was. Also, what does it means by 2nd chakra gauge when I can only see the MP bar?" Naruko commented and looked at her little helper. "By the way can I use those AP now before we go to the skills tab?"

"I'm sure we'll find about what that if later and yes you can assign them. But please don't spend them all in one stat. Balance is key after all." the fairy answered and the gamer proceeded to raise her stats. At the end they were:

Attack: 005

Defense: 004

Agility: 002

Vitality: 001

Intelligence: 002

Spirit: 251

Perception: 002

Luck: 666 ~ 777

Style: 010

Attribute Points: 000

The effects were pretty much instantaneous at least when it came to her strength. It was like she could tell she could already hit harder from before all of this started. Then with that done she taped the skills tab to see what she had.

* * *

**{PLAYER SKILLS}**

**Passive Skill: Gamer Soul [Max Lv]**

**Description** – The blessing of an unknown being that lets you see your world as that of a video with everything that it could entail.

Let's you get XP & Level UP

Let's you take quests and gain XP

Let's you enter dungeons

Let's you use magic

Let's you use the Inventory

Let's you use the Gaming Store

Let's you equip magical items

Let's enter new worlds through dungeons

Let's you Level Up skills

Let's you learn skills from books/scrolls

Makes Chakra = Mana (MP)

?

?

?

**Passive Skill: Gamer Body [Max Lv]**

**Description** – Part of the Gamer Soul bloodline limit. With this skill, your body is like that of a video game character however you still need to eat, sleep and bath. No one likes someone that smells like a garbage dump.

Sleep in safe area = 100% HP and MP restoration

Sleep in non-safe area = 25% HP and MP restoration

Natural regen = 1HP and MP every 1.5sec (Regen only active while standing still)

Normal fatal blows will now cause Bleeding status (-5 HP per second. Cure with Coagulant.)

Any venom or poison can cause Poison status (-1 HP per second. Cured with Antidote)

Electricity or Lighting attacks have a chance to cause Paralysis status (Can stop your movement. Cure with Anti-paralysis)

Cold weather or Ice attacks can cause Frozen status (Stuck in a block of ice. Cure with fire or Anti-freeze)

Hot weather or Fire attacks can cause Burn status (-2 HP per second. Cure with water or Anti-burn)

Cut off limbs will cause Dismembered status. Reduces agility (legs) or attack (arms) by 50% (one) or 100% (arm) depending on which limb is cut. It can be cured with regeneration magic or automail (mechanical prosthetic).

**Passive Skill: Gamer Mind [Max Lv]**

**Description** – Part of the Gamer Soul bloodline limit. With this skill, you will be able to analyze things far more clearly. It will also make you nearly immune to many mental attacks or situating you will face during your journey.

Unlocks the Scan skill

Unlocks Meditation skill

Immunity for mental stress = 85%

Maintains Calm status during Rage

High detection of genjutsu influence

Can break genjutsu once detected

Reading books will increase stats

**Passive Skill:? [Max Lv]**

(Condition not met)

Description–?

?

?

?

?

**Passive Skill:? [Max Lv]**

**Description** –?

2nd Chakra bar fill 5 u/s from anger

Use of 2nd Chakra = -1HP per second

Natural HP regen +2 every 1.5sec

Natural MP regen +10 every 5sec

Scars only happen from Fatal Blows

HP & MP Regen only active while standing still

HP regen can be active with MP

**Field Skill: Scan [Lv 1]**

XP 0/100

MP Cost: 10MP Target Limit: 1

**Description** – This skill lets you search an area with incredible focus and detect things one normally would have missed. When used on a person, animal, monster or thing you will be able to see their stats, levels, and descriptions. However, if what you are scanning is 10 levels over your own then that scanning will fail as it will only show you their name. Each level raises the number of targets a user can detect and scan at the same time.

**Field Skill: Meditation [Lv 1]**

XP: 0/100

**Description** – This skill lets you practice the ancient art of meditating. Meditation lets you restore 1MP per second. The higher the level the more MP you can restore.

Meditation for 1 hour = + 1Lv of Scan for 1 hour

Meditation before sleep = +100MP for the next day. (Effect is not stackable with itself)

**Field Skill: Toolmaking [Lv 1]**

XP: 0/100

Description – An invaluable skill when out on the field for any person that wants to explore the world. With this skill, you can create many tools to survive or make life easier. At higher levels, you can even create more mechanical inventions! You can create the following:

Stone tools

Wooden tools

**Field Skill: Infiltration tools marking [Lv 1] (Requires a Workbench to use)**

XP: 0/100

Description – A perfect set of skills for any rouge that wants to get in or out of any place. Practice makes perfect but never forget the tools that make your job easier to complete. You can create the following:

Lockpicks

Dummy Keys

Distraction Posters

Smoke Bombs

Paint Bombs

Dung Bombs

Rope

Straw Dummies

**Field Skill: Trap marking [Lv 3] (Complex traps requires a Workbench to be created)**

XP: 25/100

Description – A skill need for any good hunter or prankster to be able to capture and/or kill their target. The higher the level this skill is the more traps the user will be able to make more complex traps. Higher-level traps can be learned from skill books at any time but if your skill level is not the same or higher there is a good chance of failing to make it or for it to fail when used if it was made. You can create the following:

Nets

Bear traps

Low-level explosives

Pits

Spiked traps

Darts

Oil Bombs

Low-grade Poison

Rope Binding

Shock nets

Explosive Dolls

Fake Bombs

**Transformation Jutsu [Lv 7]**

XP: 75/100

MP Cost: 15 (Once active it takes 2MP per second to keep it on)

Description – One of the essential three jutsu needed to be considered a shinobi. With this technique, you can change by creating an illusion to fool the target into thinking you or something is someone or something else. At higher levels, the caster can truly change their appearance to what they wish. However, for the inanimate object, the user must hold their breath and just is canceled when they can no longer hold it.

**Substitution Jutsu [Lv 5]**

XP: 50/100

MP Cost: 25 (Range 50ft / 15.24meters)

Description – One of the essential three jutsu needed to be considered a shinobi. With this technique, you can switch places with the one true Log. Any chakra used is a worthy sacrifice for the savior who gives their body to save our lives. The higher your devotion the farther the Holy Log travel to save you.

* * *

"Okay, those are more skills than I expected. It hurts stings that it shows I don't know the Clone jutsu. But, weirdly, I have some skills already maxed out yet they don't say what they are or how to use them." the preteen commented before looking at the fairy on her shoulder. "Do you have any idea Beni-chan?"

"Something tells me they're related to that hidden race you have. Though I do not possess the data to tells what it is. My creator probably didn't give me that information so we could both learn it at our own pace."

"That doesn't make sense! They made you be my guide didn't it?" she asked with a level of indignation. In response, the Navi nodded with sympathy.

"Yes, but they probably want to give you a challenge since the Gamer Soul already gives you an immense advantage over other people." the small redhead explained and added, "Anyway, how do you feel about starting your first quest?"

"You can give me a quest?" Naruko asked in excitement at starting a new adventure.

"Sure, I can!" Benihime announced with a grin. Then she proceeded to scan the area which resulted in her complexion turning green in disgust at what she saw. "Let's start by cleaning your apartment, shall we? This place is way too filthy for it to belong to a girl and I refuse to live here or let you." she proclaimed while pointing at all of the trash bags and just plain garbage littering the place. The blonde noticed the trash in her bedroom and she knew that even more laid around the rest of the apartment. The girl had enough shame to blush before sighing in defeat.

"Okay, at least it's not the whole building," she announced. A fairy's questioned gaze she explained. "I won the deed for this place on a bet from the owner after he was stealing money from me when I came time to rent. Jiji got wind of it and somehow it turned into a poker game, I think, that for whatever reason I won. Now the whole place belongs to me. Jiji still pays for the water, electricity, and maintenance though since I don't know how to do bills."

Poor girl never even noticed the positively evil grin that appeared on the pixeled wing creature's face.

* * *

**~ New Quest! ~**

[Special Quest: Clean the castle!] {Mandatory}

[Recommended Level 1]

[Description: What is that I see? A mountain of garbage, dumpster fill to the brim or a landfill of centuries worth of junk? Nope! It's your house! Please clean it before it's declared a hazard zone and set ablaze to get rid of it.]

[Objective #1: Destroy 100 garbage piles]

[Objective #2: Slay Boss]

[Objective #3: ?]

[Reward #1: 100XP]

[Reward #2: 150G]

[Reward #3: The Fun-Size Forge]

[Reward #4: Blacksmith Skill Book]

[Will you accept? YES/NO]

* * *

Naruko didn't know whether to glare at the creature or let her eyes pop out of her skull from the amount of gold she could get rewarded with. At most in all her life, she had ever had 1G and that was after saving a bunch of copper and silver coins. Yet here she could be making more money than EVER in her life. Imagine all on the ramen or dare she dream the ultra-premium brand! Heck, why stop there!? She heard rumors that game store managed to summon a new version of the NES called that SNES and with like 50 game cartridges! That are so many new games!

'_To heck with it! I need that money!_' she thought almost pressed the YES option if Benihime hadn't stopped her by putting the fairy's small body between her finger and the button. "Hey, why are you stopping me?"

"Do you want to do your first quest in your PJs?" Beni asked with a raised eyebrow. The Uzumaki blinked and looked at herself. Sure enough, all she had on was her white and blue striped PJs with the silly chomping nightcap. Again, the blonde blushed in embarrassment and quickly ran to the closet to look for a clean (or that at least smelled clean) orange jumpsuit.

As she grabbed each item their description window appeared alongside the option of equipping it.

* * *

**{EQUIPMENT}**

Green mask goggles |Unique| [Head]

Description – A pair of green mask goggles that wears found in a gift box in front of your door years ago on a lonely birthday. They may be simple; give a very small amount of protection and you don't know who gave them to you but they mean a great deal to you. Their existence means that someone out there thinks of you and appreciates you enough to give you a gift. Just holding them gives you hope for the future.

+1DEF

+10Style

Black hair tie |Common| [Fashion Accessory]

Description – A normal hair tie that you used to keep your hair in place. You used it to put your long hair into a low ponytail.

+5Style

Orange Jumpsuit |Common| [Full body]

Description – It's orange and not only that its almost bright neon orange! What is wrong with you?! No self-respecting ninja or anyone for that matter would wear this crime against fashion! Even the black shirt under was a better option.

+1DEF

-50Style

Blue ninja sandals |Common| [Feet]

Description – A standard in ninja wear. Comfortable, simple and useful for almost any terrain.

+1DEF

+5Style

* * *

"Did you have to give my jumpsuit _that_ description? It's one of the only things I have to wear and its durable enough that I don't have to constantly fix it." Naruko glared at her assistant who raised her hand in defense.

"Sorry. I honestly don't make the descriptions for the items or quests. All of the descriptions are my creator's work."

With that done the newly appointed adventurer accepted the quest and a wave of black pixilas engulfed the room around her. Then as a loading hourglass started spinning signally the creation of the new dungeon a new screen appeared before her.

[While the dungeon is loading please choose a starting main weapon.]

This announced the creation of a multitude of weapons from the bladed, serrated, piercing, blunt and even projectile types. With all the shapes and sizes as far as the eye it could have been quite overwhelming to a lesser person. Hence, the ponytail girl was going to go for the safe bet and pick the classic Sword as any hero. That was until her eyes landed on one particular weapon.

A Scythe, the very same weapon Death used against her in Castlevania. Sure, it was just a long wooden handle a foot taller than her (making it 5ft) and with a single blade extending to the side but if the very embodiment of the end could wield it why couldn't she? With her decision made she firmly grabbed the weapon which made all others disappear with the sound of shattering glass.

* * *

**[Scythe Class]**

[Description – Originally a tool for gardening and farming used by civilians and farmers to cut tall grass or weeds. However, when the time came to fight it proved to be a very good weapon. Some people even master its use to such a deadly degree that it became come in some cultures to depict Death itself wielding one.]

**{EQUIPMENT}**

**Rusty scythe [Lv1] |Common|** Main Weapon (Two-Handed)

Description – The wooden handle is worn from age and the blade has seen better days. However, it can still cut enough to get the job done for now.

+5ATK

* * *

The girl grinned and took a few swings to test out her new weapon. Immediately she could tell it was difficult to maneuver with it that long shaft and heavy curved blade at the end made so that she couldn't get the balance right yet. It made her frown but she accepted that as a challenge and vowed to master a weapon she had never seen another shinobi or hero wield before. Unbeknownst to her, a foul-mouthed man in the Land of Hot springs felt a sudden sense of companion as he was finishing one of his bloody rituals. He shucked it up to his bloody and evil god thing him another blessing.

[Dungeon loading complete!]

~ SPECIAL DUNGEON: The Palace of Filth ~ (F Rank)

Once more the world came into view and Naruko noticed two things. First was that she somehow ended up outside of the apartment building. The second was that she was no longer in front of an apartment building but an honest to the Log castle with watchtowers, barricades, walls and even a lowered bridge that lead to the opened door. She could only blink as her jaw hanging open in amazement. The fairy saw this and chuckle lightly before tapping her on the head to span the blonde out of it.

"Well? Aren't you going to enter?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Sure, lets got to adventure!"

Thus, with great vigor and enthusiasm, the blonde ran towards the beginning of her journey with her fairy following closely behind.

It only took them getting pass the door for them to stop in their tracks due to the horrid smell that assaulted them. If you were to ask Naruko about it she would answer between the gagging, puking and watering eyes that this smell was similar to a rotten deer inside the swears. She would, however, refuse to tell you how she knows how _that_ smells like. But after a minute or two of these aromas, she got used to it or her nose just died, either way, she could stand the smell now. As for the watery eyes, it seemed that lowering her goggles to cover them was enough.

* * *

[Warning! Do to prolong expositor to strong bad smells you have been afflicted with _No Sense of Smell_]

**Affliction: No Sense of Smell**

Description – Some are born without it while others lose it. A sense of smell is very important to survive in this eat or be eaten in the world. Too bad, you can't smell that monster that's about to bite your head off.

Loses the ability to smell

Can no longer detect things through smell

Cannot smell rotten food

Immune to Stench Status

The condition can be cured with expositor to good smell after a good bath

* * *

"Well that's unexpected." the Uzumaki commented before hearing a sound but she couldn't tell from where it was coming from. "What was that?"

"Use your Scan! Just say it or think it and it will activate." Benihime reminded her. Then with a nod signaling, she understood Naruko used her first skill.

'_**Scan!**_' with that though a wave of chakra passed over the room like a sonar. It didn't take long for the scan to find the source of the noise besides a pillar of garbage. She then forced her eyes to focus on the creature that was about as tall as she was. This gave her the chance to analyze what she was facing.

* * *

Rat Lv1

HP: 10/10

MP: 0/0

ATK: 002

DEF: 001

SPD: 002

INT: 001

Description – Weakest of the weak with the only other contender for the title being simple Slimes. When this creature is alone its fairly easy to dispatch even though its one of the biggest pests in the world. However, giving its diet of rotten foods and living in less the sanitary areas the bites and claws of these creature has become dangerous to others as they can cause Poison status. WARNING: When facing 10 or more at the same time they can merge into _The (False) Rat King_.

**Techniques**: Tackle, Tailwhip, Scratch and Bite.

* * *

The creature hadn't noticed her yet so she tightens her hold on the scythe and took off running. Naruko threw all her strength on her swing but misjudged the distance between the blade and the rat's head. Thus, her blade ended up striking the garbage pile and alerting the monster. The rat screeched at her for interrupting its meal before it started to coil its body back.

"WATCH OUT!"

The fairy's warning came just in time to let the player jump as the animal dashed at her with a vicious Tackle. By pure luck, the rat sailed below her without causing damage. Still, as the girl landed her weapon remained stuck on the mountain of trash and she just heard the rat stop its movement to redirect itself to attack her once more. Naruko tried to desperately pull the weapon out and while it was working it wasn't as fast as she wanted to. Then right was the beast jumped to bite her she managed to pull the weapon free with a burst of strength. However, the girl could control the momentum and ended up spinning which was just enough to swat the rat out of midair with a blow to the head.

"It's stunning! Take it out now!" Benihime exclaimed just as Naruko stopped spinning. After shaking her head to get her bearings right, the girl looked for the creature and sure enough, it was on the animal was on the floor with (honest to god) two stars spinning on top of its head.

Rat Lv1 (Stunned)

HP: 4/10

MP: 0/0

Seeing her chance Naruko made sure to align the scythe's blade properly the rat's head. Then she lifted it as high as she could, took a calming breath and swung the blade down. The hit was as true as it speared through the creature's head and dealing the killing blow. What she didn't expect was the blast of blood the came out. It's paralyzed her as the body dissipated into pixelated dust and the reward screen appeared.

* * *

[**Congratulations! You won!**]

[You've gained 1XP.]

[Loot: 01 rat tail |Common| and 001 copper coin.]

Item: Rat Tail |Common| x001

Value: 001 copper

Description – Just a regular tail from a rat… the size of a human child. Wow, who knew they grew that big? Better call the exterminator!

* * *

Soon Naruko felt her mind start to relax as her Gamer Mind activated, she managed to process that: 1) yes, she just had her first kill; 2) if she had not done so she would have died; 3) she had not taken pleasure in it but knew it had to be done. Thus, opened her inventory screen and sure enough, the rat tail was there along with side copper coin. In doing so she noticed that her inventory had infinite space however it seems that there was a limit on how many of the same item she could carry. Either way, she closed the Inventory and looked at her XP bar.

Naruko Uzumaki Lv1 ~ Trickster Queen ~ (No Sense of Smell)

XP: 1/99

HP: 50/50

MP: 1,295/1,305

"Great, I just killed my first enemy and it felt like it was all luck." Naruko commented with a frown and threw a questioned looked at her weapon. "Do you think I made a mistake by choosing this thing?"

"Everyone makes mistake their first time and luck is always a factor in anything you. So, I take the win and let's keep going!" Banihime answered to the enthusiasm which made the girl smile as she felt the energy infect her too.

"Okay, where to now?" she asked but the fairy only answered by pointing at her eyes. '_Oh, right. __**Scan!**_' Once more the wave of chakra sonar spread over the room and another target appeared but this time to her side. She turned and looked at the mountain of trash her weapon had been stuck in earlier.

Garbage Pile Lv1 Objective

HP: 80/100

"Guess is time to clean up." the blonde announced before turning her weapon to hit with the back of the scythe so as not to waste the already worn-down blade. Next, she proceeded to continuously hit the target.

-3HP

-3HP

-3HP

-3HP

Confused by the small amount damaged surprised her considering she had hit it before. She remembers the last time the damage had been 20 points so why now was it less. Then she face-palmed at realizing the blade was the one doing the damage. She weights her option on whether to keep wasting time on small hits and probably reduce damage to her weapon or speeding up the process and more than likely destroy her weapon. Sighing in defeat she turned the blade and sliced at the objective.

-10HP

Sure enough, the attack did more damage and this time the blade didn't get stuck on the trash. Hence, the attack was repeated as many times as was needed to destroy the object. At the same, she was wish with all her might that this didn't damage her weapon.

* * *

[Objective Destroyed!]

[001/100 Garbage Piles destroyed]

[9/10 Garbage Piles left in this room]

[Reward: 1 gold key fragment]

Item: Gold key fragment |Rare| x001 

Value:500 Silver

Description – A fragment of a much larger key. Collect 10 fragments to create a Golden Key.

* * *

Naruko raised an eyebrow at the key fragment she just won and its value but decided to keep it. She has no idea what those keys are for and with that high value, it best to wait for the chance to make the Golden Key see what that could open. Still, she gulped to calm herself and scanned her weapon.

* * *

[Congratulations!]

[Do to acting smart and letting your inquisitive mind flourish you have unlocked the skill **Appraisal**!]

Crafting Skill: **Appraisal** [Lv1]

XP: 0/100

MP: 5MP

Description – A valuable skill for any artisan, crafter, blacksmith or any treasure hunter. With practice, the user will be able to tell the parameters and even its wildest secrets. Maybe you might even find out something about the object that no one knew before.

[**Appraisal **has been activated for free since it was just created.]

* * *

That was a surprise to the Uzumaki the such a useful skill would just materialize like that but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Therefore, she once more looked at her rusty scythe and her eye widened at what she saw. For the most part, everything was the same except for a now added skill and that she finally noticed something missing. That which was missing was a durability stat on the weapon and no matter how hard she looks for it no such attribute appeared on the weapon.

"Surprise!" Benihime screamed with a proud grin "That's part of the Gamer Soul package. It has bent reality in such a weapon that now none of your weapons can break from repeated usage. However, they can still be broken by something much stronger or harder than itself. So, for example, a simple bronze weapon could easily slice through your rusty blade. That not even mentioning that the handle of your weapon is a simple wooden stick."

The gamer nodded in appreciation for the knowledge that she would not have to deal with weapon maintenance. That by itself was a great relief for her because frankly speaking, she didn't know how one kept weapon in tip-top shape and one ever bothered to teach her. Of course, there existed the probability that they did teach that in the academy and it was either during one of the times she skipped class or when she was kicked out of the classroom for whatever reason a teacher would think off if she hadn't done anything yet. Nonetheless, Naruko came back to read the new skill added to her weapon.

* * *

**Weapon Ability: Poison of Rust**

Description – Did you had your tetanus shot yet? If not please be careful when handling this rusted blade.

Poison status chance UP 1% for each hit during an encounter. (Max 100%)

Chance reset after each encounter.

* * *

The whiskered girl had to admit that it was a cool effect if a little weird with how it was implemented. Still, it was enough for now plus she still had a whole "castle" to get through. Though now that she thought about, she looked around the room and noticed beside the mountains of garbage the place looked a normal apartment but with everything being much bigger as if to house giants and not humans. It was almost making her feel even smaller. Her only consolation is that the trash was still normal size even when piled up to towers bigger than her. But that was enough distraction for now so she once more used her scanning skill to look for her next target.

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X

(1 hour later)

~ Floor1/Room10 ~

_SLASH!_

With that final hit, Naruko killed final rat on group floor alongside the 50th garbage pile that the beast had crashed into and destroyed with its dead body. Ignoring the congratulation screen, she looked around and saw the room shinning with little sparkles as with all was made to polish crystal. Not a speck of dust, dirt or blood anywhere as far as she could see. Her job had been going swimmingly well since the start of this new weird world she just jumped into. It was kind of cool how destroying all the piles on a room automatically cleaned it.

Somewhere along the way she managed to unlock two new skills: Two-Handed mastery and Scythe mastery. Both of these skills helped her greatly at learning to wield her unique weapon of choice. Two-Handed mastery was still at Lv1 so right now only gave her a +5% chance of landing a critical hit and letting her wield the weapon similar with both hands without a loss of accuracy or power. Scythe mastery, on the other hand, was already at Lv2 which gave her both a +5ATK for wielding scythe or scythe-like weapons (curtesy of Lv1) and a spinning throw that made the scythe come back like a boomerang (that was Lv2). The best part about the second skill being that the scythe would always come back to her hand without the chance to the thing cutting her to bits. Then she looked at her XP and HP.

Naruko Uzumaki Lv1 ~ Trickster Queen ~ (No Sense of Smell)

XP: 67/99

HP: 25/50

MP: 938/1,305

"Ouch, I had been feeling hurt for a while but I didn't think I had taken that much damage," she commented and then looked at her inventory to take out a couple of Herbs. Some were dropped by the Rats while others came as a reward for destroying the garbage piles. "Guess it's time to use this. How do I use it? Do I eat it, crush it or what?"

"It would be more effective to process it into a potion but right now just crush it and eat them." the winged lady explained and her mistress did as suggested. Give that they only healed 10HP per leaf she used three of them and it almost made her gag with how bitter they were but they got the job done. With that done they decided to up the second floor to finish the quest. Once they finished the stairs Naruko again used her Scan to look at the room.

[Skill LvUP!]

[Scan Lv2 = Target detection raised to 2]

Immediately as that happened, she detected two new enemy types. Her targets were a cockroach on the ground and a fly buzzing around in the air. Again both of the creatures were as big as her. She focusses first on the bug on the ground and then the winged one when it landed.

* * *

Roach Lv1

HP: 30/30

MP: 0/0

ATK: 003

DEF: 004

SPD: 005

INT: 001

Description – An insect considered a pest among almost any creature. Its exoskeleton shell gives it quite the defense for its level. However, its greatest advantage is its speed which could catch you off guard if you're not careful.

**Techniques**: Tackle, Bite, and Multi-kick

Fly Lv2

HP: 55/55

MP: 5/5

ATK: 003

DEF: 002

SPD: 004

INT: 002

Description – A pest that just will not leave you alone! Why does it keep circling you and your food?! This creature pukes its digestive fluid unto things so melts and is easier to eat. Given the fact that it likes rotten foot, a mutation has occurred that has made this acid far more dangerous to living creatures. Careful not to get your skin melted off from your bones!

**Techniques**: Tackle, Acid-Spit, Lift and Throw

* * *

Naruko started thinking about the situation she found herself in. Both monsters were near each other so no matter which she attacked the other would react and she was going to have to fight both. She was sure that her scythe could get pass the roach's shell but that could leave her wide open for a shot of acid to the face once the fly takes flight. However, she needs to take out the fly before that thing starts buzzing around because she almost had no way of hitting it if it did besides throw her scythe. But that option also left unharmed against the roach for a least a second or two.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had practiced with those throwing knives of your."

"Shut up! And the knives are called Kunai while the stars are Shuriken. Besides, they're rusty and chipped to heck. Those things would break with one cut!"

"Yep, just like your rusty scythe."

The blonde had the decency to blush in embarrassment at her excuse been so easily rebuked. Nonetheless, she stayed closed to the shadows while concentrating her focus on the fly. Thankfully neither monster noticed her and she managed to get right behind the winged insect. She readied her weapon, took aim, and launched it!

'_**Boomerang Scythe!**_' and with that mental shout, she felt her MP drain into the weapon as it went soaring through the air. The weapon gave a light buzzing sound as it cut through the air which causes the fly to turns its body slightly toward the sound. The move was enough for the attack to miss the creature's head but it made its wings the new target. Without mercy, the scythe sliced its way through the creature's wings and makes the monster scream as it fell on the ground trashing in pain.

The scream alerted the roach that quickly turned toward her presence. With frightening speed, the brown insect went for a full power Tackle. Naruko tried to dodge by sidestepping it but it was too fast for her and it clipped her leg with enough force to throw her off-balance. That caused her to spin on one leg before faceplanting on the floor and receive a good -10HP. Her hand still rose automatically to catch her weapon as part of her last technique. She quickly stabbed the pommel of the weapon on the ground and push herself to her knees.

"NARUKO! WATCH OUT!"

Benihime's warning almost came to later to save the novice. At the yell, the adventure turns the blade backward and slammed the weapon behind her right shoulder. She felt the blade sink into her attacker's body and the pained screech solidified that thought which made her smirk. The small victory was cut short as she noticed that fly had turn back unto its legs and she could tell it was looking at her with rage. Then the creature's stomach seemed to swell twice its size before the bulge starts traveling upwards.

Thinking quickly got to her feet and using the pole of her weapon like an improvised sling, bent the pole before jumped as high she could as it shot up. The fly flung the acid at her and she managed to escape the main hit but the slash damage still got her legs. Even the few drops of digestive fluid burn more than she thought it would plus that -5HP didn't make things any better. Not wanting to see what a full hit would do given that the puddle was already making a hole on the ground, Naruko spun on top of the pommel of her weapon. Then swung all of her weight away from her attacker while the scythe worked like a seesaw and rose the roach as the whiskered girl went down.

That worked just as she intended as the big cockroach transformed into a perfect shield against the acid. That tactic didn't last long however since her 'shield' only lasted for two more hits before it was melted off her weapon. Quickly the blonde threw her scythe again at the insect and ran behind a mountain of trash. Out of side from the insect, the ponytailed girl bolted as fast as her legs could take her and possibly get behind her opponent. She was partially successful in this but the creature decided that jump while using its damaged wings to move and dodge her scythe.

The fly was successful in dodging both the spinning attack plus the left punch she had thrown to tired and stop the creature from dodging. However, its cut-up wings were not strong enough to keep it in the air. Poor Naruko ends up once more with her face kissing the floor as the monster crashed on top of her. That was another -3HP down and when the creature started trashing…

-1HP

-1HP

-1HP

-1HP

-1HP

-1HP

-1HP

-1HP

"GET OFF!" Naruko yelled as her left hand shot up and caught her scythe. The process the rusty blade sliced the winged pest's back badly enough that it rolled off of her in pain. She quickly got up and glared at the monster. The **Gamer Mind** activated before she could scream at it but she could still feel a boiling rage in her that required a release. So, she walked in front of the monster after which she looked between its weapon and the dizzy creature.

Unknowingly channeling her chakra into the weapon, she spun it behind her and gave the fly an upward slash from left to right across its face. Then at the highest point gave it another spin and slashed downward from left to right. This followed by another repeat of the original attack that was again followed by the follow-up. Yet it wasn't enough as she kept repeating spinning slashes again and again while adding a horizontal attack. This continued until it looked like she was attacking with six rings that were constantly spinning around; 1 over her head, 2 crisscrossed, 1 around her waist, and 1 on each hand. During all of this, the poor insect was being sliced and diced to pieces.

Then with one final slash across the face, the blonde was done and the fly fell apart in a puddle of green blood and dismembered body parts.

* * *

[**Congratulations! You won!**]

[You've gained 5XP.]

[Loot: 01 insect antenna |Common|, 01 pair of insect wings |Common| and 005 copper coin.]

[Congratulations! You have created your first original technique!]

[You have created **Whirlwind of Doom**!]

**Combat skill: Whirlwind of Doom [Lv1]**

XP: 0/100

Damage = -5HP per spin

Bleeding chance 75% on each hit (Most have bladed when equipped)

Dismembering chance 5% on each hit (Most have bladed when equipped)

MP Cost: 25MP + 3MP for each spinning after the 10th

Description – A technique created by Naruko Uzumaki but easy to replicate for those with enough skill. Imbue your long shaft weapon with your chakra and make it spin around your body with your hands and arms as fast you can. The chakra trails left by the shaft creates small rings that act as a barrier around you and protect you from incoming attacks. Meanwhile, your weapon will attack your opponents and/or relieved them of their limbs if used with a blade. If used with lance or scythe class weapons this technique can cause Bleeding or Dismembered status.

* * *

The whiskered girl exhaled through her nose as she read the new window. Around the 4th and 5th room, she had asked Benihime if it was possible to stop getting a description for every new item she came across. The fairy had responded that she just needed to go to the settings tabs for that. There the trickster set things to only be informed about Legendary (purple) and Epic (brilliant gold) rarity items. The new technique was a surprise though since all she had done was follow her instincts and release that sudden burst of anger.

Still knowing that could create a new technique and maybe even jutsu, later on, brought an existed grin to her lips as she gasps her weapon. It finally clicked to the young kunoichi in training what was happening. She was finally doing it! All of these new powers, techniques, and items were making a path toward her dream of being Hokage!

'_And all because of a cute little fairy._' the blonde thought while looking at her companion. Out of a whim to show gratitude she decided to use two fingers to scratch to girl's red mane. The reaction was certainly cute as the pixel winged creature started to vibrate while giggling in joy. Naruko giggles too but stopped after a few moments which causes the Navi to shake its head and look at her with a confused smile.

"What was that for?"

"For giving me a chance to achieve my dream." the preteen answered cryptically before looking around. Her exploration of the lower room has already taught her that every garbage pile that was at least taller than her was an objective to destroy. Hence, she ignored those in favor of the monster prowling about. '_**Well then, let's keep this thing going. Scan!**_'

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X

**Author Notes:**

I don't know why I'm doing this. The inspiration just came to me and I had to write it. A still want to finish Valkyrie's Empire but for some reason, I just can't. It's like the word won't come out. Either way, if this story continues, I want to say a few things:

**#1**: I know this first chapter might be on the dry side but I wanted to establish how the Gamer powers work in this story.

**#2**: Think of Benihime as Navi from Zelda but less "HEY LISTEN!" and more Persona 4 & 5's Rise and Futaba's "It's down! Take him out!" helpfulness. I just felt that Naruko need a small companion to help her discover her new powers. Plus, it also saves me the part of our protagonist questioning what are those windows she is seeing and why now everyone has bars over their head at only she can see.

**#3**: The main pairing for this story will be NaruHina but I'll add in Ino a little later for more yuri goodness.

**#4**: Sasuke and Sakura will be "bad" at the start but I plan for them to become friendly with Naruko. Though probably most of this will happen once they are in Team 7.

**#5**: Naruko is starting the final semester of the Ninja Academy so she won't have years to grind out XP and become God-like before she even gets the rank of Genin. Kakashi would still kick her ass with one hand tied behind his back in a full-frontal attack.

**#6**: Yes, I made chakra into MP just to make it easier to write and put the same excuse in the story to cement that fact!

**Quick Edit:** Changed bronze coins to copper to match the old Gold-Silver-Copper standard.

* * *

**Update: 08/17/2019**

I want to thank the guest that uses the handle Fourteen for telling me about Grammarly. Really, thank you for that because it showed me just how many errors I had while writing. Hopefully, now this work wouldn't be a trainwreck!

**Update: 04/22/2020**

Grammar


	2. Are exploits considered cheating

**Chapter 2: Are exploits considered cheating?**

~ SPECIAL DUNGEON: The Palace of Filth ~

~Floor 02/Room 04~

Naruko's arm shut out and caught her weapon on its return trip from beheading a rat. Setting it on her shoulder she looked around and saw the other two glaring at her. The one on the right had 5HP remaining while the one to her left only had two because it managed to dodge her last attack, unlike his third friend. She could still hear the fly buzzing around the ceiling and she damn well knew the roach was running somewhere in the background.

'_Dammit, my back still hurts from that surprise Tackle._' she taught before hearing the rapid scattering of legs behind her. Quickly turning around she slashes and missed the head but managed to cut off the antennas. It didn't kill the creature it made the insect stop in its tracks as it became stunned.

Taking the opportunity immediately the pony-tailed blonde rose her foot and proceeded to repeatedly stomp the monster's head. After five solid stomps, she felt the satisfying crunch and wetness of the roach head caving in as it died. Yet she could not rest as Beni warned her of an incoming attack for the back. Instinct took over as she spun her behind her for an upwards slash. This time the move landed perfectly by cutting one of the rats' skull in half and thus ending its life.

During this, she managed to see the fly reading its acid. Taking advantage that the system didn't vanish the dead bodies until the encounter was finished she continued the rotation of the weapon until it was stabbed the roach body. Then pole vaulted with the scythe into a forward spin and launch the **Boomerang Scythe** with the roach's corpse still attached. As the weapon sailed through the air the whiskered girl easily landed in a roll before springing back to her feet.

She turned around but the last rat got her by surprise as it had already jumped at her. Instinctively her left arm rose to back the attack which ended up with that arm getting acquainted with a set of teeth. The bite hurt a lot but she grit through it and mentally called out for one of her Rusty Kunaies. The jagged and deformed weapon materialized in her hand which she quickly plunged into the rat's neck. The animal let go as it made a gurgling sound but before it could escape the blonde twisted the knife and cut her away out of the neck. The blood spur and wet whimper were ignored for dismissing the knife to catch the returning scythe missus the roach.

Looking around she couldn't pinpoint where the buzzing was no matter where she looked around. Worst was that in the last room she learned that in battle **Scan** only worked when she could see the enemy. She cursed inwardly and choose to climb on top piles of trash to get a better viewpoint. Thankfully video game logic worked its magic and turned the structure as solid as a boulder on flat ground. Once on top Naruko looked around and found the fly at the far north end of the room carrying something. The bug was also speeding towards her before it threw the item at her.

The object sailed through the air until it flipped and its content was flung at her. Turns out it was a knife drawer that with very sharp kitchen knives. The orange kunoichi's eyes widened greatly before hastily activating the **Whirlwind of Doom** to hopefully stop or deflect the projectiles. She managed to block nearly all of them but one managed to get through. That one knife that passed through her defense embedded itself into her neck. The shock of such a thing happening was too much for her to keep hold of her weapon. As the scythe escaped her hand she fell on her knees and coughed.

[Warning! Bleeding status has been afflicted.]

'_Is... is… is that… blood? My…my… blood?_' the orange kunoichi thought in distress upon seeing the coughed blood hit her hands. Tears started blurring her vision as she felt the blood already pooling in her mouth. That hot searing pain was like one that she had never felt before. Then she could hear herself gurgling the blood but could not understand how or why the floor was getting so close. She could barely even hear the thud her body made once it hit the ground.

'_Its… so… wet and… cold…_' was all she could think of as her vision started going black. One peek at her HP bar was all she needed to now as it announced she only had one miserable point left. Her eyes burned with tears as she felt that familiar cold hands grabbing at her. '_No… please…_' she begged as she was becoming numb and-

"**CURAGA!**"

+2500HP

And just like that, her entire world came back, pain and all. Frantically she saw Benihime's hands glowing before the Navi dove to her neck. Next, she felt two little feet on it that were pushing alongside the knife. Before she could ask, she heard and felt the blade slide out along a river of her blood. That was accompanied by the sound of her inventory screen opening.

[Coagulant used! Bleeding status has been cured.]

"What the?" Naruko questioned as she got to her knees. She stared in awe at herself as that horrible pain fled her body like it was nothing. Sure, right now she was covered in her blood, her face was probably a mess and had a wicked crick on her neck but she wasn't dead. She was about to thank the little creature when she noticed the fly about throw acid on both of them. Thinking fast she grabbed the bloody knife and threw it with all her might.

The projectile flew through the air at a speed the only a trained eye would have been able to follow. The winged bug had no such training so it could do nothing to stop or dodge the incoming attack. Therefore, the knife plunged itself into its head and shot it back just as the acid was released. Said acid flew upwards in a stream before it rained down all over the monster's body which ended up killing it.

* * *

**[Congratulations! You won!]**

[You've gained 08XP]

[Loot: 01 insect antennas, 01 pair of insect wings, 03 rat tails and 008 copper coins]

[You've leveled UP!]

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv2] ~Trickster Queen~

Job: Novice

XP: 0/165

HP: 50 + 15 = 65

MP: 1,305 + 66 = 1,371

ATK: 010 + 1 = 011

DEF: 007 + 1 = 008

AGI: 002 + 1 = 003

VIT: 001 + 1 = 002

INT: 002 + 1 = 003

SPR: 251 + 6 = 257

PER: 002 + 1 = 003

Attribute Points: 0000 + 10 = 0010

[You've learned **First Aid**]

**Lv1 White Magic: First Aid [Lv1]**

XP: 0/100

MP Cost: 5MP

Description – A restorative spell that any starting adventurer should know.

Restores 25HP

[Through continued practice you have learned the art of **Knife Throwing**.]

**Passive Skill: Knife Throwing [Lv1]**

XP: 0/100

Description – An art that can be both thrilling to watch and a death sentence for the target. Circus performers use it to entertain while a shinobi master it to silently eliminate their opponents and targets. (Works for all small projectile weapons)

+10% accuracy in throwing knives.

* * *

Normally Naruko would have whooped at getting her first level up and two new skills. Yet she couldn't because she was still looking her little savior. Said savior was slowly floating down to the blood-stained floor while panting in exhausting. Not wanting the fairy to get dirtied the whiskered youth hastily cleaned her right hand with the back of her pants and caught the slow floating girl.

"Thank you, my lady."

"No… thank you, Beni… you saved my life." the whiskered blonde said with reverence in her voice. The tiered red-head could only chuckle lightly at that and the unshed tears on her mistress's eyes.

"When I _***pant***_ was created the first thing I learned was _***pant***_ "You must help Uzumaki Naruko." and that's what I did." Benihime panted out to her mistress and added with a caring honest smile. "I want to help you, Naruko-sama."

Smiling as well the adventurer raised her fairy and kissed the wing girl's forehead.

"Thank you, Beni-chan and by the way, you can just call me Naruko or Naru. No need to use the same among friends. By the way, was that white magic you used to save me?"

"Okay, Naruko-chan and yes. _***pant***_ Thought in my haste I ended up using _***pant***_ the most advanced version of the spell." the Navi commented with a slight blush from the affection she was shown. "I'm lucky that I was given the ability **Saving Grace** _***pant***_ that lets me use any restoration spell to heal an ally _***pant***_ once every 72 hours no matter the MP. Please _***pant***_ try to be careful because I won't be able to do that again for a while."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me that." the preteen chuckled in response. "I escaped death twice already and don't want to tempt it with a third. The Shinigami might think I'm flirting with him."

"That would be preferable." the fairy nodded while trying to catch her breath. "Also using such an advance spell _***pant***_ when your level is too low for it has left _***pant***_ me extremely tired. _***pant***_ I won't be able to fly for a while."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not unless you know how to transfer mana to someone else."

Hearing that Naruko started thinking about that possibility. Normally in her RPGs, one could restore MP through items like ethers or magic water. Regretfully she had nether in her inventory now and sure her friend wasn't in danger but dammit she wanted to repay for the save if only a little. Then she remembered one of the classes she was paying attention to. That particular class had been on the famous kunoichi medic Tsunade Senju. Most of the technicality flew over her head but Naruko could remember Iruka-sensei saying that the medic had created a lot of medical techniques that are still used today. One of those techniques was indeed one that transfers chakra from one person to another.

It had something to do with covering your hands in chakra until the palms were coated in it. Then slowly and with a great deal of care, you would make the chakra enter the other person's body at a sedated pace. It was a very slow pace process that could easily take hours if one wanted to full refill another person. However, quick bursts were possible and used to save people already suffering from extreme chakra exhaustion. She also remembered that the people doing that transfer were masters of control over their chakra.

'_And my control is pretty much nonexistence giving I have so much chakra._' the girl thought as she looked at her friend. '_Still, a want to do something for her! If only I knew how to focus my chakra. Wait a minute… focus… focus… I remember something about that but… Dammit, you stupid brain! I know you only have three points of intelligence but FOCUS!_'

The moment she screamed at herself something finally clicked in her mind. It was a small memory of Iruka-sensei trying to teach Kiba and her about chakra control. It was something about making a leaf remain in place by sticking to your forehead with your chakra. From what she remembered the leaf acted as a focal point of the chakra.

'_Maybe I can adapt that to this? Would it work if instead of thinking "stick" I think "transfer" the chakra would flow into Beni-chan?_' the girl started analyzing '_Well I've only had this Gamer Soul for nearly two hours a most but it's enough to notice that it makes things happen when I think of them. It would explain a lot better how my weapons are unbreakable for the most part._'

[Due to extensive, analytical and critical think on a subject your INT has increased by 1.]

Looking at that massaged pop up made her eye twitch. She couldn't say why but it felt like the system had just insulted her with that. In spite of that, she returned her focus on her companion and started gathering energy on her hands. Every quickly her hands started glowing with a light blue that looked like blue flames lazily dancing to their rhythm. Benihime noticed this and was about to ask what was happening when Naruko thought 'Transfer!'

A quick flash of light.

[Benihime's MP was restored by 150MP!]

* * *

[Through your desire to help others you have learned **M-Pathy**!]

**Lv1 White Magic: M-Pathy **

MP Cost: 150 + 5MP per second of continues use

Description – A spell created by mages and healers to help transfer MP to a friend in need. Transfers a burst of your MP to another person on the initial use and in a gradual stream if the caster wishes the spell to remain active.

* * *

"Heh, guess I do now," Naruko smirked victoriously as her fairy stop panting. The little creature then started floating again. The redhead then, as if to test out her new stamina, did a few pirouettes if the air.

"So, it would seem," Benihime commented with a grin of her own. "Shall we continue?" she asked with rejuvenated vigor. Naruko almost agrees right then and there before she stopped.

"Wait a minute," she announced with a frown. "I just realized. The first floor had ten rooms and this floor is probably the same, correct?"

"That is correct, yes." the Navi answered with a confused look. "But I do not understand what are you asking?"

"It just that… I mean all of these rooms look like a giant living room plus a lot of garbage. I can understand that much. What I don't understand is how are there five more rooms on each floor when the real building only has ten apartments in total between the two floors?"

"Video game swear level." was the only answer kimono wearer gave with a small shrug. It took a few seconds for it to click in the ponytail girl's brain. When it did, she facepalmed.

"Oh… Okay yeah, that explains it." she commented while shaking her head "I forgot that things are always larger in video games."

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

(45 hour later)

~Floor 02/Room 08~

[Objective destroyed]

[90/100 garbage piles destroyed]

[Reward: 02 copper whetstone |Upgrade item|]

"Whetstone? Upgrade item? Okay, I got to see what are those!" the gamer asked and gave a quick look at the item's description. Once she read the information the girl could only grin in satisfaction. She had been wondering why the system had given her weapon a level but no XP bar. Turns out she required these whetstones to level them up to their true potential.

"Naruko-chan, before you go and upgrade your weapon…" the Navi stopped that adventurer "I would like to inform you that the rarity of the weapon dictates what is the max amount of times it can be upgraded. A common-rarity like the one you have right can only reach Lv20. On the other hand, a Rare weapon could reach Lv40. Each rarity rank gives it 20 extra levels to upgrade."

"Okay, got it. Since there exist five rarity categories that means that if I get an Epic weapon the max level would be 100. That means I would need 99 bronze whetstones to max it out, right?"

"Sorry but no." the little redheaded shook her head. "An Epic weapon would indeed reach Lv100 but you would need 800 bronze whetstones to do so."

…

…

…

"What?" the gamer with a tone so flat some people would think the sun revolved around it. The fairy chuckled lightly at that inflection and summoned another screen. This screen was slightly different as it had… _something_ that was the shape of a human but for the life of her Naruko couldn't make out any distinguishing features. She just couldn't make out a face, eyes, mouth, hair, or even if it had skin!

"I believe this will explain it better," Benihime said and clicked that screen. Not a moment later the image started moving with sound just like a Tv. She noted that she couldn't tell the gender or accent of the voice either.

* * *

**[Video Start!]**

[Is this thing on? What? … Yes, I can see the red light. … Oh! Dammit, let's start over!]

**[Static]**

[Hello dear {insert player name here}! If you're hearing this that means you have found one of the upgrade items and want to upgrade your weapon but your Navi stopped you after explaining how many whetstones you need. Well, there is a good reason behind it! And that reason is that I'm not that good with numbers! So, all I did when adding the upgrade mechanic to the system I thought:

"Hmm, what is the easiest way for me to implement it? Oh, I know! Let's make the rarities starting from Rare and cost double their max level or something like that!" After that brilliant idea I just took a calculator and went: (#1) Rare = MaxLevel x2; (#2) Super-rare = MaxLv x4; (#4) Legendary = MaxLv x6; and (#5) Epic = MaxLv x8!

Sure, by the time I finished my brilliant mathematics that no way, shape, or form can be wrong an Epic cost 800BW but that's what the silver and gold versions are for! And this is in no way a copout because I can't do real math and formulas. Heck, even if it was you couldn't do anything about it because this is my game and I am GOD HERE! MUAHAHAHAAHA!

…

…

I shouldn't have said that last part… Oh well, I'll cut it out in post.]

**[Video End!]**

* * *

After the video ended there was a pregnant pause as Naruko glared through her goggles (she had yet to take them off once during this whole dungeon) at the screen. It continued long enough that Benihime thought she had offended her mistress in some way. She was about to ask for forgiveness when the whiskered blonde raised two fingers.

"Okay two things, Beni-chan." the girl started "One: your creator is a lazy idiot. Two: I think I hate him for that last comment." In response to that, the fairy gave a small nervous and embarrassed chuckle.

"I didn't know my creator for long. But in that short amount of time, I learned they were… unique sometimes." she replied with a sweet-drop on her head.

"Another word for mental-case if you were to ask me." the preteen commented before taking out the whetstones. "Wait a minute? WHERE'S MY SCYTHE?!" she screamed at finally realizing that she hadn't seen her weapon since the knife going into her throat. The blonde looked frantically for the equipment but couldn't find it. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder and fund her companion.

"Anything you equip stays on unless you remove it." explained the sentient instruction manual. "Just do as you've always done and called it back as you do inside of battle."

Nodding at the information the Uzumaki called out to her scythe. Sure enough, it re-materialized in her left hand as if it had always been there. She gave a small smirk in triumph at the small victory against the laws of physics before looking at the whetstones in her right hand. For a moment she thought about how she was going to make the upgrade but as soon that question came a screen appeared before her.

[Do you wish to level up {Rusty Scythe (Lv1)}? WARNING: The whetstone(s) used will be consumed in the process]

[Whetstones available: 02 bronze whetstones]

[Whetstones selected: 000 (+/-)]

[Do you accept? YES/NO]

After reading that message and selecting both of the whetstones she had just acquired the gamer clicked to approve. Once that was done the whetstones disappeared before her scythe was covered in bright light. The coat of light only lasted for a few moments before it was gone. Then new screen materialized saying:

[Rusty Scythe LvUp. ATK has increased by 2 and Poison of Rust increased +0.5%]

[Rusty Scythe LvUp. ATK has increased by 2 and Poison of Rust increased +0.5%]

[Rusty Scythe now Lv3. Now when equip it gives +9ATK. Poison of Rust now raises the chance of Poison status 2% per hit.]

Naruko whistled at feeling and seeing the effects of her strength reaching 15. After that, she went to her status screen and used those 10 attribute points her level up had given her. When the distribution was done that stats raised became:

HP: 70

DEF: 010

AGI: 005

VIT: 004

INT: 006

PER: 005

'_Huh, will you look at that. My HP raises 5 points for every 2 attribute points that get added to it. That's helpfully to know._' the girl though while smirking. At this point, any other person would be flying high on the "I'm invincible!" train. Thankfully the latest brush with death still fresh in her mind made sure to cement in her how easy it would be for all of this to turn sideways and end with her as monster chow.

'_I need to be more careful and learned how to dodge. I can't repeat another incident like that or rely on Benihime to always save me in a pinch._' she rationalized and looked at her companion who was examining the upgraded equipment. The gamer smiled lightly as she thought '_After all, that __**Saving Grace**__ of hers can only be used once every three days and it leaves her vulnerable afterward. Safety nets are good and all but recklessness is just asking for trouble._'

[Due to thoughtful analysis of your mortality and the consequences of your actions your INT has increased by 1 point!]

Naruko felt the anger veins start throbbing along with her twitching eye at the message. Now she was extra sure the system was making fun of her! Still, it mattered not since it was at least giving her something useful alongside the insults. Anyway, since all the monsters in this room were dead, her natural HP and MP regeneration had restored everything to max during this whole upgrade episode and she had destroyed the last piles of garbage in this room there was nothing else to do in this location but leave.

Therefore she 'shelved' her weapon back into the hammer-space that was her inventory and gave a nod at her companion that was leaving. With that, they went to the door leading to the next room. Once the door was open and they entered the room they noticed a difference in the place's set up immediately. In the other rooms, all the trash was thrown about with nary a thought of where it landed and the mountains of trash were always in random locations.

Here however all the trash had been pushed to the sides of the room while leaving the center almost spotless if not for the dirt, grime, and layers of dust. If they were to guess the girls would say it looked like an arena that was ready for opponents to fight to the death.

[WARNING! SPECIAL EVENT ABOUT TO BE ENCOUNTERED!]

As the system started yelling that out the door slammed shut behind them. The girls quickly turned to look just in time to see barbed iron bars raised in front of the door. Next, sets of chains crisscross themselves over the bars. Finally, a lock in the form of a sadistically grinning skull laughed itself into the center for the door good measure.

"I think someone is trying to tell us something," Naruko announced flatly.

"You think? What could that possibly be? That skull looks so friendly." Benihime added just as flat.

Then they heard the door on the other side of the room open. Neither was ready for the massive creature that entered the room. The creature was least ten feet tall at its full height and from shoulder to shoulder looked to be half that. Not to mention each of its four biceps looked to almost twice the size of Naruko's head. It didn't help that each footfall of the creature sent small tremors across the room.

Naruto gulped in slight worry and quickly activated **Scan**. Then focus it completely on the monster to find out anything about a thing.

* * *

Giant Roach Soldier Lv3 ~Miniboss~

HP: 375

MP: 25

ATK 025

DEF 015

SPD 002

INT 008

Description – Through the regular exposure to chakra this creature has undergone a radical transformation even among chakra mutations. This roach has become more humanoid in its physic but its head remained that of a normal cockroach though enlarge because of its massive size. Like other roach soldiers, it can stand on its hind legs which leaves the other four free to attack. Good news: its running speed has been reduced greatly. Bad news: the four freed legs have evolved into arms with hands. Worst News: it somehow found a rusty broadsword for each hand.

Techniques: Bulk-Up, Double Cross-Slash, Ground Pound and Earth Style: Earth Shaker

* * *

Sure enough, the creature had four identically huge swords in each of its hands. Then its mandibles started moving once it noticed her presence in the room. The clacking sound they made almost felt like to sharp pieces of metal scrapping one another.

"**Slayer!**" the roach screeched at her.

"You/It can talk?!" both girls asked in surprise at the grave voice coming out of the insect. Somehow, they could tell it was glaring at them for that remark as it stopped in the center on the arena.

"**Slayer! You have become much smaller than when I saw you last!**" the roach laughed(?). It was hard to tell when the thing didn't have facial expressions though the short human female's eye still twitches at the insult to her height. "**Many of my brethren have fallen to you in your path of destruction! But today I will end you!**" it declared as it pointed one of its swords at her. "**Then once I bring your head to the empress, I will avenge my kind and finally let the fallen rest in peace!**"

* * *

~ **Special Event has been encountered** ~

[Mandatory Quest: A soldier's fight for revenge]

[Description – You see them walking around the floor, walls, or ceiling of your house and think they are nothing but pests. You hunt, trap, and kill them by the thousands without a second of thought or hesitation. Well now one of them is ready to fight back and it's coming for your head!

Mission: Kill the enemy!

Reward #1: Insect Shoulder Guard |Rare| {Right Arm}

Reward #2: Skill Book: Entomology

Reward #3: Box of Insect-Killer (Combat Item: Can of Insect-killer x12)

Failure to complete this quest will result in the death of the player.]

* * *

"At least the rewards are nice, right?" Benihime nervously chuckled. Sure, during this trip both females had learned that the monster seemed to completely ignore her existence even when she was right in front of them. That still didn't help the fact that even children were giants to her so this monster's height was like a child fighting a tail beast. Goods news though, she learned that fear was an emotion that was available to her. Her creator was so _nice_ for doing that! Naruko, on the other hand, glared at the enemy through her green goggles.

"Sure, the new armor is nice but I have no idea what that book is about." the pony-tailed girl answered and summoned her weapon. Then she gave it a small twirler before resting it on her right shoulder with the blade pointing up and slightly lowered her stance while putting her left arm forward. It wasn't much of a battle stance but she had become comfortable at using this as her initial position for a fight. "Either way, we're not getting out unless he goes down."

As if that last sentence was the proverbial ring of the bell the Miniboss screeched and it raised his leg. A small screen appeared signaling that the enemy was using **Earth Style: Earth Shaker**. Hence, she readies herself to dodge in any direction away from any earth being sent her way. Once the stomp happened, she had expected a straight wave of ground moving towards her. Instead, the entire floor started staking with such force that she simply couldn't hold her balance and fell on her knees. No matter how much she tried she couldn't get up with all of the shakings. Gritting her teeth, the blonde looked at the giant roach coil its legs before it jumped high in the air.

Eyes widening and noticing that the magnitude of the shaking was reduced the blonde rolled out of the way as fast as she could. That, however, didn't stop the massive shock wave generated when the 10ft insect crashed onto the ground. Poor Naruko was sent flying into one of the walls. The system said she lost only 10HP but her back certainly beg to differ as she fell back onto the ground.

"**What's wrong slayer!? Can't fight now that you can't tower over us!?**" the roach soldier taunted as it turned its head to her direction. The blonde glared at her opponent before she got up and gripped her scythe with both hands in a defensive stance. The girl didn't have a chance to reply as the creature's swords started glowing with chakra before its rights arms slashed at the air. This created visible twin trails on the air.

Already imagining what was going to happen the gamer bolted away as the other set of cuts appeared and the attack fired. The **Double Cross-Slash** traveled at an incredible speed as it tore threw the floor like a hot knife through butter. To the frustration of the creature, Naruko's quick thinking made it so that the attack was nowhere near her by the time it hit the wall. The giant roach turned to its target and won a Kunai to the face for its trouble.

The rusty knife bounced harmlessly off its shell but it was enough to annoy it. The knife was also useful in distracted enough that it didn't see the buzzing scythe until the last minute. It managed to move its head just enough to evade the main attack but the scythe did achieve in cutting one of its massive antennas.

As the creature screeched in pain Naruko looked for a place to hide. Not finding anything because of how all the trash was pushed to the side she ran to the farthest corner of the room way from the monster. Once there she crouches down and opens her inventory. Then she took out five empty crystal bottles, five rags, a bottle of cheap liquor, and a pack of matches. She had managed to gets these items as a reward from destroying the piles of garbage.

After catching her scythe on its return trip, she vanished it back into its "scabbard". She quickly opened that liquor bottle and started pouring it in the bottles. Once the bottles were filled, she placed that rags in them to suck in the alcohol. After that, she started to try and light the matches. Regretfully, like for every person ever, that was in a hurry the sticks didn't want to work.

"Come on you stupid things! Light up already! AHA!" they scream of victory was short-lived however she saw a new message.

[The enemy has used **Bulk Up**! The enemy has increased its ATK by 5 points and DEF by 4 points!]

With creature's attack power now twice her own and defensive capabilities four points over her strength Naruko knew she was in trouble. Thus, she quickly lights up all five rags and got the message signally the creation of five Molotov cocktail. Not even bothering to ask why they were called that instead of firebombs she picked one up and threw them at the insect.

The bottle flew through the roomed but the monster saw them in their travel. In one single stroke, it cut the bottle before it could reach him. To bad for it that set ablaze the liquor as it slashed all over the monster's body. In seconds the giant roach was set on fire which made the creature start going in a frenzy as it lost the initial 25HP.

"Nice! You caused it to get Burned!" Benihime cheered/informed the fire bomber. Seeing the continuous damage ticking away at the miniboss' HP bar Naruko launched two more bottles at the monster. Each one hit for a combined -50HP and the blonde was about to throw the last two when it happened again.

[Enemy used **Earth Style: Earth Shaker**!]

This time the shaking was even stronger than before. Consequently, the goggle-wearing preteen lost her footing far faster. Bad news: when she fell to the floor, she had let go of both explosive bottles. Worst news: both shattered on top of her and also made her lose 50HP.

"Oh no Naruko-chan! You're burned!" the fairy exclaimed trying to put out the fire with her wings. Regretfully her little wings couldn't do much as the blonde rolled in the ground trying to put out the fire. Then she saw the girls HP start to drop dangerously from the status effect "Naruko-chan! Use First-Aid NOW!"

The gamer followed that order and hastily casts it twice on herself. The -2HP still kept happening with every small ember bursting out of her body. At the very least her life wasn't close ending _again_!

'_I nearly died when I was six and now, I've nearly died twice in the last 2 hours!_' the burn victim internally growled. '_I'm starting to think death really has a crush on me._' she added as she got up.

"**I'LL KILL YOU!**" the miniboss' shouted as the sound reverberated around the room with such force that it trembled slightly.

[The enemy has used **Bulk Up (Stage II)**! The enemy has increased its ATK by 10 points and DEF by 8 points!]

Naruko inwardly cursed violently when that text showed up. Next, she was forced to dodge another **Double Cross-Slash**. However, this time attack was almost twice as big and faster. She escaped the largest part of the attack but the following explosion sends a few pieces of trash at her. The didn't do many thanks in part to new healing spell abuse but it was annoying seeing the numbers -1HP in conjunction with the -2HP from Burn appearing everywhere.

"Beni-chan! How much can you carry?" She questioned while jumping away from another **Ground Pound**. This time she was ready for that shock wave and she used the force to get some distance away from the enraged monster. The wind was faster than she expected but by stabbing the scythe in the ground it helps lower the speed for an easier landing.

"So long as you can carry it so I can. Why?" Benihime answered floating close to her companion. The fairy could tell the goggle wearer had a surprised expression. "What? All of my stats are a direct copied from yours," she added with a shrug. Then her eyes widened when she spotted the monster's next move. "Watch out!"

The jumping quadruple downward stab was new but the fairy's warning for them to dodge the four swords. However, both females moved in opposite directions which separated them. Like all other monsters before the miniboss, it ignored the pixel winged creature in favor of the kunoichi in training.

"Look for water, please!" the pony-tailed girl screamed while trying her damnedest to evade every sword slash thrown at her. "I can't keep _***jump to the right***_ using _***tries to redirect stab with her scythe and gets her shoulder cut badly***_ **FIRST-AID!**" Naruko yelled while healing the latest hit.

One quick look at her HP told her that even with the heal she was still at 47HP. Then that trice damn Burn affliction just kept eating away at them 2pts at a time. She was lucky that her way of only healing outside of items had such low MP cost. Even with the constant healing, she was doing her MP hadn't even passed the 1,200 marks. If her math was right, she could essentially keep healing and wait for a chance but…

"**You're annoying maggot!**" the enraged insect screamed at having missed another attack. Its mandibles clicked similar to a human scrapping their teeth. Naruko looked at his HP and could only groan. Even with the thing burning it was still well in the 160~150HP range. After dodging once more the enemy yelled in utter fury.

[The enemy has used **Bulk Up (Stage III)**! The enemy has increased its ATK by 20 points and DEF by 16 points!]

'_AND THEN THERE'S THAT!_' she roared within her mind. Unbeknownst to her while she dodged more violent attacks, she started gaining Anger points. '_Seriously!? This is supposed to be a level 1 dungeon and I'm already fighting a monster with four times the amount of attack I have!_'

"**DIE!**" the roach screamed as it once more tried to shake the earth. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of another shakedown Naruko threw her scythe straight at the creature's head. The weapon went flying and nailed him in the head. Even though the attack itself only did miserable 1 point it was enough to unbalance the monster. Hence it tipped backward and crashed on its back.

[The enemy has been knocked down! Enemy's DEF has been halved!]

She was about to scream in victory over that last message when she felt water rain all over her. Looking up she noticed Benihime was pouring a bottle of water over her. Immediately another screen told her that Burn had been cured. The fairy at least had the decency of looking embarrassed for just slashing her like that. Naruko just gave a thumbs-up as a sign of thank you when the redhead stopped.

"Glad to see you can survive without me." the redhead joked.

"Haha, say that after you trying dodge four swords." the blonde snarked with a small smile dusting her lips. Then her face became serious as she saw that roach trying to get up. "Now, how to kill this guy?"

"Will this work?" the Navi's voice was heard behind a box. The gamer raised an eyebrow at that before she recognized the box.

"Hey, that's my box of fireworks! I thought the ANBU had confiscated it last time?"

"I found it by the grand piano next to the washing machine and the wall turkey."

"Why would- Never mind, give me that."

With that, she grabbed the box from the fairy. Took out the matches, lit them on, threw them in the box, and finally flung the box of fireworks at the roach. The poor insect had finally managed to sit when the box landed on its lap. It exploded before he had any time to react.

Naruko and Benihime bore witness at a beautiful display of colors and sound. For Benihime it was special given that this was the first time she had ever seen such a view. Naruko on the other hand, couldn't stop grinning as she saw the monster's HP drop 5 points at a time with each new explosion. It was regretful that by the end the giant still had 50 points remaining.

"Wow… That was so pretty!"

"True. Too bad it didn't kill him."

True to the girl's word and like the HP bar had announced, the giant insect was still alive. However, what they saw was a shell of its formal self. Everywhere they looked on there were cracks, gashes, and burns on its exoskeleton. The roach also seemed to have lost its lower arms give the half smoldering stumps where they used to be. Naruko smirked grew a few levels when she also noticed that two remaining swords were just dented hilts with shattered pieces of what used to be swords.

"**Do you **_***pant***_** do you **_***pant***_** Do you thinking **_***pant***_** that is enough **_***pant***_** to kill me?!**" the roach soldier roared. Yet being on its knees and after a scan showed its stats in the single digits beside its HP the intimidation did not work.

"Beni-chan, you said your stats are the same as mine so you're as strong as me, right?" Naruko asked while readying her scythe straight behind. Then she moved the blade to its side so it would be parallel to the ground.

"Yes, why?"

"Then when I say to pull you pull!"

With that, the Uzumaki burst into a run at the monster with the fairy flying close behind. The injured enemy tried to do the **Double Cross-Slash** but it only came out as a single unstable attack. Seeing this Naruko slide-kick below the move that couldn't even reach the ground. She felt the wind pass by her harmlessly and using the moment she still had jumped out of the slide. The giant bug tried to cut her in midair but didn't take into account the reduced length of its weapon. Hence it completely missed the kunoichi in training while at the same time the overextended arm also made the perfect bridge for her.

Not wanting to pass up such an invitation she landed on the closed first and ran up the arm. That roach was too slow in moving his other hand to stop her. By the time it was close she jumped and slashed with her weapon. The scythe cut through the air and with a sickening wet sound it stabbed the creature's neck which stunned it as it screeched in pain. Naruko then placed her feet on the creature's chest and started pulling at the weapon.

"BENIHIME! HELP ME PULL NOW!" she ordered and understanding what the girl meant the fairy grabbed her jumpsuit. Not a moment later both girls pulled with every ounce of strength they had. In mere seconds the already weakened shell around the neck gave to the combined strength of the females. Then with one final tug, the rusted edge exploded out of the creature's neck in a gruesome display that bathed the small females in a green vial.

Thankfully Naruko managed to control the momentum to turn it into a spin that helped her safely land on the floor. She didn't even have to turn to see the creature bleed out since the victory screen appeared in all its glory.

* * *

**[Congratulations! You've won!]**

[You've gained 30XP]

[Loot: 01 Broken insect mandible |Rare|, 01 Seed of life |Super-Rare| and 50 copper coins]

[Mandatory Quest: A soldier's fight for revenge (Completed)]

[Reward #1: Insect Shoulder Guard |Rare| {Right Arm}

Reward #2: Skill Book: Entomology

Reward #3: Box of Insect-Killer (Combat Item: Can of Insect-killer x12)]

* * *

Naruko whistled at the massive haul for one enemy that wasn't a boss-type but she guessed that was thanks in part to the special event happening. Then again that bug had been hell to fight with its multiple arms and constantly increasing stats. But that just showed her how much she needed to train if she wanted to survive her powers and the outside world. Still, right now she wanted to check what treasure she got. Plus, it would let her natural regeneration heal the damage she still had from the fight.

The first thing she looked was that rare mandible which turned out to be just monster parts. Later she could probably use it for crafting or just sell it. Next was the seed of life and it turns out that if she eats it her HP would raise either as low as 3 points or as high as 6 points. Not thinking twice, she popped it into her mouth, munched it, and swallowed. The effect was immediate and she got lucky as it raised her life by 5points.

Next, the pony-tailed blonde looked at the first reward from the special event. Seeing it made her grin like a madwoman especially when it said it was possible to wear the shoulder guard over her jumpsuit. The equipment screen was quickly opened the new armor was attached to her right arm.

* * *

{**Equipment**}

Insect Shoulder Guard |Rare| {Right Arm}

Description – A shoulder guard created from the carapace of an insect mutated by chakra. It's not pretty to look by any measure of the word but it gets the job done. It can be attached to clothing with the Full Body requirements.

+10 DEF

-25 Style

* * *

Once the new items as placed and the screen closed a blue flame-like light appeared in her shoulder and across her cress. Just as fast as it came it dissipated and left the new piece of armor in its place. Both girls looked at the equipment and their faces twisted in slight disgust. The shoulder guard jutted a couple of inches from her shoulder and like the description mention, that thing was not something you would like to be seen wearing. It looked as if you ripped off the cockroach shell, didn't bother in polishing it, poke old belts through it to hold it in place, and called it a day.

"I hope that the shop has something more appealing," Naruko commented with a sour look on her face.

"It probably does. So, why don't you finish this dungeon? The faster you finish this the faster we can take a bath." the fairy said while shaking off some of the vile that fell on her.

"And don't forget that we finally get to eat." the blonde added as her stomach practically roared in agreement. Benihime looked at the kunoichi's stomach and then at the kunoichi herself with great surprise. "What? You didn't give me a chance to make breakfast because of how dirty this place was. About the only this in my stomach are herbs and that seed."

After that Naruko examined the Entomology skill book and a message appeared. The information explained that: 1) once used the book would be destroyed; 2) it would give her a skill of the same name that made it so that any damage done to insect type monster would have a 5% increase, and 3) the more insect type monsters she killed the more XP that skill got. Shrugging "why not" she accepted to use that book which shattered like glass and the pieces went straight into her. She didn't feel any pain from that instead it felt like she suddenly knew just the right way to attack any type of insect. At least that was the easiest way for her to describe the feeling of learning a new skill through this method.

Accepting the weirdness for a quick of her Gamer Soul she continued by opening the box Insect-Killer. Exactly as the description informed the box contained 12 cans of the insect repellent. The description noted that it only worked against insects and that each can was used completely in one massive spray that could hit up to four enemies at a time. At the same time, the repellent would hit for 150HP which meant that with the Entomology skill it would hit for 175HP. That made the Uzumaki almost cry thinking about how easy the previous fight would have been if she had found even one of these cans in the garbage.

Because of that, she vowed to use every last one on the boss if she could. Difficulty or challenge be damn, she was going to kill that monster by shoving each can down its throat and get out of this stinking place. With that done she went to destroy the remaining piles of garbage. To her surprise destroying the five piles she managed to get four lighters and a roll of duct tape. Seeing these items made her blink before her she felt a calling. She called out one can of repellent, a lighter, and the duct tape. Then she felt her hands moved on their own and when she was done a screen appeared.

* * *

Combat Item: Insect Fire-Bomb x04

-250HP to insects (Affected by Entomology)

50% chance to cause Burn status

Description – A homemade bomb using a can of insect repellent, a lighter, some duct tape, and imagination! It might look like a lighter taped to a can but all you have to do is throw it and see those damn bug light up like a forest fire. The explosion can hit up to six enemies.

* * *

"That… doesn't seem fair." Benihime commented after reading the description over her mistress's shoulder. She was about to suggest not using such a strong item so early in their adventure when she saw the Uzumaki's face. From this day to her last the fairy would swear she saw the visage of death chanting like a fangirl for the utter mayhem that whiskered grin promised. "Huh… Naruko-chan?"

"Just stay behind me and nothing bad will happened to you." the whiskered female practically singed while checking her bars.

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv2] ~Trickster Queen~ (No Sense of Smell)

XP: 64 / 165

HP: 75 / 75

MP: 1,371 / 1,371

Seeing she didn't need any healing and this room was clean she considered herself ready for the boss. Hence, she walked to the door leading to the final room and touched it. Instantly a text box showed itself to her with a warning that indeed she was about to enter the boss room and there was no going back once she entered. That was something she already knew and/or guessed would happen. Therefore, she opened the door and passed the threshold into a layer of the beast.

The first thing she noticed was that lights had dimmed somewhat and the floor was wet with something sticky. Yet even with the reduced light both females could see rows upon rows of eggs from floor to ceiling. Each one was pulsating with a new roach ready to come into the world. Then at the very end of the room, she saw her target laying more eggs. One quick **Scan** told her everything she needed to know about it.

* * *

Empress of the Roaches [Lv5] ~Dungeon Boss~

HP: 1150

MP: 50

ATK 022

DEF 012

SPD 008

INT 010

Description – A genetic oddity even among monsters of its kind. Only a few species of monsters have queens that produce offspring to propagate the colony yet this particular female roach evolved into this role. This even though her species are not known as having an established hierarchy. This one however as been exposed to enough chakra to become as smart as a normal human. Warning: The empress rules all and will call her subjects to help her.

Techniques: Egg-laying, Call for reinforcements, Body Slam, and Crunch.

* * *

The huge budging creature noticed the human and clicked its mandible imitating a growl. Unlike the soldier she still crawled on all six legs yet somehow, she still felt more intimidating than the previews monster.

"**Human…**" the empress started with hate in her voice "**You dare to come into MY CHAMBER-**"

That was about as far as she got before her world became fire as she was engulfed in four massive explosions. The flames from the detonations feed off each other and speared the fire all over the insect's body. Then as the roach empress screeched in pain and thrash about, she inevitably smashed its body against the walls filled to the brim with her eggs. The eggs that were not splattered by the monster's body became fuel for the fire. In a mere second the room because of an inferno where the only sounds louder then the cracking on flames were the pained yells of the mother and her unborn children being consumed by the fire.

"Okay… This feels wrong." Benihime commented as she saw the fire trying to cover everything. "You didn't even give her a chance to finish!"

"Yeah… I thought taking advantage of the long villain monologue trope would have given me an edge in the fight." Naruko answered with a bothered disbelief tone in her voice. "I wasn't expecting to be sent to hell that fast for it."

Then moments later, when the flames receded enough that they could see into the tunnel of the inferno they noticed the empress. She was still alive if one could call it that with how much damage she had taken. Like the miniboss before her, now there were cracks all over its charred black and smoking body. They could also see parts were the shell had melted, fallen off or was flaking off. The mother of roach kind was also shaking in pain with her head twitching erratically. They also noticed the telltale embers sporadically appearing and disappearing around the smoldering shell that told them the empress was suffering from the Burn status.

"**My… children… my… home… my skin… my… body…**" the girls heard the insect repeat those words again and again as it crawled through the inferno. For her part, Naruko thought it would make a very good scene in one of those later night tv horror movies. Then the gamer and fairy _felt_ the roach look at them and they could just fell a madness fill blood lust take over the creature. "**I'll… I'll… KILL YOU!**"

The shout was the only signal they got before the monster started a mad dash towards them. Thinking fast Naruko ran to the side and evaded the impromptu tackle from the insect. The monster was too far gone in its rage to bother with stopping so it smashed into the entrance door. To the Uzumaki's surprise, the door didn't even budge from the impact. Instead, the monster was stunned and the blonde took that opportunity to summon her weapon. Then she ran until she was behind the create which is when she launched the weapon below the creature.

The weapon once more spun like a buzz saw and cut the insect's stomach without mercy. Disgustingly enough this made eggs fall onto the ground as the monster roared in pain. The roar actually "saved" it from death as it made the scythe miss the head. However, the job was done nonetheless as that last attack inflicted Bleeding onto the boss on top of the burning. At that point, Naruko realized that the fight was over and decided to wait for the last points of HP to run out.

The roach empress thought differently and tried to trample the whiskered youth. Regretfully the bug, too weak from the burning and blood loss, couldn't control its body well enough to not step of the new eggs. All it took was one wrong move and the creature slipped onto the ground. There it took its final breath among the broken and burning remains of its children.

* * *

**[Congratulations! You've won!]**

[You've gain 45XP]

[Loot: 99 insect eggshells |common|, Mandible Blades |Legendary| (Dual Swords), Chakra crystal (medium) |Super-Rare| and 75 copper coins]

[Special Quest: Clean the castle!]

[Hidden Objective: Experience your first special event (Completed)]

[Rewards: 100XP, 150 Gold coins, The Fun-Size Forge |Epic| and Skill Book: Blacksmith (Beginner)

Hidden Reward: Unlocks Costume option in the equipment menu]

[You've leveled UP!]

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv3] ~Trickster Queen~

Job: Novice

XP: 44/264

HP: 75 + 16 = 91

MP: 1,371 + 73 = 1,444

ATK: 015 + 1 = 016

DEF: 020 + 1 = 21

AGI: 005 + 1 = 006

VIT: 004 + 1 = 005

INT: 006 + 1 = 007

SPR: 257 + 6 = 263

PER: 005 + 1 = 006

Attribute Points: 0000 + 10 = 0010

* * *

"You know… As good as the loot is… I kind of feel bad about how that thing died." Naruko commented during the victory time. She had meant to finish the fight as quickly as possible to get out of the dungeon but… she could only feel petty for how she killed the boss. '_Guess that means I'm still human?_' she thought to herself as her fairy companion nodded in agreement with her last statement.

"Yeah, it wasn't a fair fight but I'm sure something like this has happened to you before when playing a game. Sometimes the boss is weaker than everything you have faced before or you found a trick that makes the fight easy."

"Yeah, in a game or two." the gamer responded while remembering taking out the Yellow Devil in Mega Man with the Pause-Lighting trick. That brought back a smile to her face and she added: "At least now we get to take a bath and eat!"

With that, the dungeon commenced its disintegration into pixels and signaled the return to the real world.

~ SPECIAL DUNGEON: The Palace of Filth ~

COMPLETED!

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

**Grammar Update:** 08/17/2019

**Math Update: **01/19/2020

**Update: 04/22/2020**

Grammar


	3. Forging paths, friendships and weapons

**Chapter 3: Forging paths, friendships, and weapons**

~Naruko's Appartment~

Bathroom

Naruko was resting in her bath letting the hot water cleanse ways her troubles as she thought about what had transpired in the last hours. When they had gotten back home it was just past 8:30 in the morning. Yet for Uzumaki, as it all started to sink in, it felt like a lifetime had passed since yesterday and today.

'_I went to sleep yesterday dreading that after today it would be another week of school and another week of failure at learning._' she thought and almost felt her mood dip at those memories. Then she heard little splashes and turned to look at Benihime. The fairy was in a small bucket with water they heated in the kitchen. Seeing the creature swim about the improvised pool made her smile. '_Now I have this little fairy and incredible powers that bend reality into a mockery of itself._'

"What are you thinking about there?" Benihime asked while resting her head over her crossed arms on the rim of the bucket. "A copper for your thoughts."

"Just one copper?" the blonde raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Damn, guess I better start dumping all of my points on my intelligence from now on!" she added over-dramatically which cause the redhead to giggle. "But for real… I was thinking of how you changed so much for me in just a couple of hours. Thank you."

"Don't worry, I was created to help you and be your companion."

"Still, its more than anyone has ever done for me. I mean sure, Jiji pays the bill, Iruka-sensei takes me to ramen and Ichiraku-san cooks the ramen alongside his daughter. But none of them have ever given me something that makes me feel like my dream isn't just that."

"What is your dream if I maybe ask?"

"I tell everyone it's to be Hokage so that everyone can look up to me and they wouldn't ignore me. But…" here the fairy saw her mistress become silent for a few moments. In those blue eyes, the redhead could see small traces of regret like the blonde had betrayed someone. Then the girl started talking again "But I know that's the wrong reason to become the leader of this village. Still being Hokage is about the only goal I have to strive for."

"Why do you think that? You're a strong girl with a lot of talent. Something you showed plenty of during that dungeon! I'm sure they're a lot of things you could do!"

"Not in this village." Naruko snarked with enough poison on her tone to kill a man. Then a righteous glare was directed to the tiles of the walls as if they were all to blame for the whiskered girl's problems. "Did you know I don't even know how to read or write? Pretty sure that only reason I haven't had problems understanding that words written in the text-boxes are because of a safeguard in the system that makes it so that even an idiot can use it!"

"Wait, you don't know how to read or write? But you're twelve!"

"Well, no one has ever bothered to teach me or even though ask me if I did know or not. It's one of the biggest reasons I always fail my exams. It's a vicious cycle really that starts like this: I can't read or write so I can't take note, because I have no note I can't study since I can't study I can't answer the questions which I can't even guess the answer to because I can't read them in the first place. _***sigh***_ About the only good thing about all of this is that I've learned to fake how to write."

"How do you fake knowing how to write?" the pixel winged girl asked incredulously. In response, the Uzumaki just shrugged and rose her hand to mimic writing.

"I tried to copy the arm and hand movements of the students writing their answers."

"Does that even work?" Benihime questioned. Already her mind was imagining all the possibilities towards information gathering that this skill could offer to the young kunoichi in training. Then the academy student answer.

"I've started getting 30 and 40 points in the latest exams so I'm guessing it does work."

"Those are still failing grades!"

"Even at 30 points, it's still double what I normally got before I started doing that!"

After that, there was a long pause between the two females. The larger of the two didn't talk because of both embarrassment and frustration at her particular problem at this age. The smaller of the two however from confusion, anger, and admiration. The confusion over why this young girl had been abandoned by people in such a way. Anger about how she was left to fend for herself with so few tools that people normally took for granted. Then admiration over the level of determination shown to keep fighting and adapting to a world that seemed to try and put her down at every turn. All of this made the fairy vow to help her mistress even more not just because it was her job but because this girl needed that.

"Okay… I think we just found a new long-term quest for you." Benihime commented as she started to code a new quest in a new screen. Naruko rose an eyebrow at that line before pouting.

"That means I have to go to the library, doesn't it?"

"Yes, among another thing," she answered as she kept fine-tuning a list of quests for the gamer. "The game store has many things you can buy but it's still best to buy things from this world if you can."

"Why?" the blonde asked in confusion while sat cross-legged in the bath to better see what the fairy was working on. Regretfully all she could see in the small screen with symbols that she couldn't understand. So, she continued with the questioning about the shopping the fairy mentioned. "Why do I need to buy things from outside when I can buy armor, weapons, skill books, food, clothing, and even house or ninja supplies from the shop?"

"Because most of the things in the store are magical items that while, yes very helpful, have their limits based on your experience. Hence the more you know of the world the more options become available to you." the Navi replied with a small smile. Then she made another screen appeared. "Plus, the more you explore that more detailed your map of the world becomes. It will also open up the possibility of Fast Travel to key locations."

With that, she lightly threw the screen at the blonde. The screen slowly floated towards the Uzumaki until it stopped before her. Then it expanded until showed a perfect map of her apartment building from the outside. Then the map zoomed in until it represented a perfect top-down view is her apartment. To her amazement, everything was there with a legend on the lower side which she could toggle to highlight or turn off different objects. Then she noticed the fast travel flag over the windows and exit/entrance door.

"Fast Travel? Wait, is that like Return/Zoom from Dragon Quest?"

"Yep, with it, you will be able to return to key locations on the map at any given point so long as you don't have a ceiling over your head. If you try it indoors you'll just end up crashing headfirst into the roof."

"Well, that's awesome. It will make going a vacation so much easier."

"Sure, but you will have to walk to those places first."

"Guess that's it then," Naruko concluded before standing up. As she got out and started drying herself with a towel she added: "Let's get dress and explore the town."

Benihime nodded, closed the screen she was working on and floated to her mistress to get dried as well. Once the girls were nice and dry Naruko walked towards her bedroom while drying her hair. Sure, it was nowhere near as long as Sakura or Ino's but it still reached a little past her shoulders. That meant it was still a pain to fully dry. Either way, she reached her bedroom and looked for a new set of clothes to wear. That meant another jumpsuit.

"Please tell me you're not using that jumpsuit again." the fairy begged once she saw another copy of the orange monstrosity.

"It's the only thing I have to wear." the gamer once more pouted. The Navi just looked at her with a flat look.

"You have 150 gold from your first real quest. Pretty sure if you can go to the Style clothing shop and you could find something."

"Will it be in orange?"

"Yes, but please don't make it too flashy okay?"

Nodding at that option Naruko opened up her menu screen and looked for the shop tab. Finding it she clicked on it and another screen appeared to show her the clothing section. In her previews quest the hidden reward "Unlock Costumes" had been a pretty nifty thing when she looked at it. That reward had unlocked sub-tab in the equipment screen which was used for her to put on any style of clothing she wanted. With this did she could now wear any clothing while also wearing armor who's image would be "overwritten" by the clothes or costume.

In theory, she could go around in a bikini if she wanted to and still have all the defensive capabilities of wearing full plated armor. In practice, the clothing worked as the perfect disguise to make everyone believe she was just a civilian instead of a fully armed kunoichi ready for battle. Add to this the fact that her main weapon was never "on her" it was perfect for completely hiding her potential. Hence, she went for something she found "cool looking" to fool people into thinking she was just another child playing ninja. Naruko ended up looking at the following:

* * *

**{COSTUMES}**

White shirt with the Final Fantasy logo (45 copper coins)

Pair of black jean shorts (25 copper coins)

Pair of black and orange striped knee pads (15 copper coins)

Blue King Slime wristwatch from Dragon Quest (24 copper coins)

Pair of black combat boots with orange flames in the toes and sides (29 copper coins)

Black zipper jacket with orange striped sleeves and hood with a red spiral on its back. The hood was also in the shape of an orange fox head with little black ears and red eyes. (55 copper coins)

* * *

'_All of this and its only worth one silver and 93 copper coins!_' Naruko thought in surprise at the low prices she saw and thought '_Either things are cheap in this shop or I'm being ripped off to high heaven in this village… Dammit, it's probably later._'

Sighing at the fact people just loved making her life hell she bought the articles of clothing and put them on. She noticed that by putting clothes in the style section made it so that neither of them gave her defense boosts. Still, they did make her feel not just pretty but comfortable even if leaving the jacket opened made that people and perverts would see her already developed chest. Normally she used the jumpsuit to hide that so that people wouldn't get ideas. This especially so when she was way bigger than any girl in her class considering she was sure that she was the only that could currently wear bras. Plus it kind of messed a little with her image given how her height didn't match the chest. Still, she shook that off and decided to look for better equipment since these clothes didn't even put a dent on her money.

Hence, she went looking for real armor and there she found out a few things. First was that armor was divided into three categories: heavy, medium and light. Heavy-type like one would expect, gave by far the best defense giving that most were made of metal but unless one had a mastery over such equipment the user suffered a penalty to their speed. Thus, she ignored it and looked at the other options starting with the next level medium. Like she guessed this type had the second-best defense out of the three types and the best was it didn't restrict a person's movements. The description also commented that in this category there existed a subcategory that held a type of armor made from enchanted or magical materials that made it as strong or stronger than steel. Finally, there was light armor which held almost nothing in defense giving it was mostly made up of robes and clothing however most if not all of them were enchanted to help the wearer channel mana from their body or nature and into their spells.

'_Well, for ninja mobility is a must so the heavy class is immediately disqualified. That leaves me with medium or light._' Naruko thought as she weighs the pros and cons of the two remaining classes. Then she remembered how difficult the last dungeon was because of her low defense. '_Medium armor it is._'

With that though she opened the tab for the classes and her eye twitched at what she saw. Besides the leather armor set everything else was locked away because of her low level. Since the next set of armor would not unlock until she was level six Naruko bought the set. The prices and bonus of the equipment were the following:

* * *

**{EQUIPMENT}**

Leather helmet |Common| [90 copper coins]

+8DEF and 2 Style

Leather armor |Common| [175 copper coins]

+12DEF and 2 Style

Leather braces |Common| [50 copper coins]

+5DEF and 2 Style

Leather boots |Common| [50 copper coins]

+5DEF and 2 Style

* * *

Naruko laughs somewhat at the idea that she was wearing boots inside of boots but was more than happy about how much her defense had risen. Her natural defense was just a miserable 8 but thanks to this new armor she was at 38 with this set. Regretfully and thankfully(?) she could not attach the insect shoulder guard because the leather armor already had shoulder pads. Nevertheless, with that done the blonde went to buy a better weapon. Sure, her rusty scythe had been upgraded twice already but she knew sooner or later the rusty part of its name was going to bite her in the butt.

Therefore, she quickly looked for a replacement. This new weapon turned out to be a scythe with a bronze blade which appeared to be the original form of her first weapon before it became rusted. Not thinking twice, the blonde bought the new weapon even if it was slightly weaker than the upgraded rusty one.

* * *

**{EQUIPMENT}**

Bronze Scythe |Common| [150 copper coins]

+8ATK

* * *

Funny enough once she equipped the weapon, she felt a tingle around her right middle finger. Raising her hand to look she chuckled at seeing a bronze ring on her middle finger with a small insignia of a small fox holding a scythe with its paws. Why it was a fox or how she could tell it was one Naruko couldn't tell. However, she did find it cute and couldn't help but smirk at the implication that every time she was summoning the weapon, she was, in essence, flipping her enemy off.

"That's enough for now," Benihime commented upon seeing that the blonde was about to go into the book section of the store. "Let's go outside and explore!"

"But what about buying a spell? I want to do magic!" the Uzumaki pouted with a quivering lip. From experience, she knew that normally made people cave into her demands. The fairy, however, was immune as she shook her head with a smile.

"Sorry to say this but while the system may not have warned you the reality is that you can only learn two spells and/or skill books every week. You already used one chance with the entomology skill and if you use the other one now you wouldn't be able to learn Blacksmithing which means you wouldn't be able to the forge tonight."

"Okay good point." the whiskered youth acknowledge upon remembering those rewards from the quest. Therefore, she went for the next best thing and bought the following consumable items:

* * *

{**CONSUMABLE ITEMS**}

Medical Herbs x25 [08cc each]

Antidote Herbs x25 [08cc each]

Eye Drops x25 [10cc each]

Echo Herbs x25 [12cc each]

Cold Herbs x25 [14cc each]

Heat Herbs x25 [14cc each]

Coagulants x25 [20cc each]

Gold Needles x25 [20cc each]

Smelling Salts x25 [20cc each]

1 Zippo Lighter with the 4-star dragon ball painted on its sides [2 silver]

* * *

The blonde gave at small whistle at seeing such a huge spending spree only costing her just 40 silver and 58 copper coins. At the prices of this village, just half of that would normally cost her twice if not triple that price. Yet she felt a questioned look directed at her which made her turn to a worried fairy.

"Naruko-chan… Why did you buy a Zippo lighter?"

"I still have some sake from the dungeon. If I spit it on the flame of the lighter it would create a small fireball attack."

"Is there something I should know about you and fire?!"

"That I considered it a perfectly good distraction to one escape if the need should arise."

"I worry about you Naruko-chan."

The girl ignored the comment and was about to leave the apartment when she came back to her bedroom for the green goggles. With a smile at the item, she grabbed them and put on her head like a makeshift hairband. This made her bangs fall over the goggles but not her eyes while the rest of her hair pooled around her shoulders.

Now with her new look ready, she exited her apartment at which point a new quest window materialized in front of her.

* * *

**~ New Quest! ~**

**[(Collectible) Explore your village!]**

[Description – You've lived your whole life in this village but do you know where everything is? Why not take a day or two to see if you can find some important places to visit? How knows, maybe you'll find an adventure or two!]

[Mission: Find interesting places]

[Reward #1: Each important spot will become a Fast Travel point

Reward #2: Each spot found gives 5XP]

[Will you accept this quest? YES/NO]

* * *

"That seems straightforward enough," Naruko commented with an enthusiastic smirk.

"I aim to please!" Benihime bowed before floating over to the whiskered girl's head. Then she sat there while slightly resting against the goggles.

"Comfortable?" the kunoichi in training asked while trying to look up. "I mean, I can't feel your weight up there but still. Aren't you worried people may see you?"

"Not really I was made with a special self-cloaking ability that makes me invisible to humans that can't see mana."

"Isn't mana just chakra? Also, wouldn't I look like a crazy person talking to thin air?"

"Mana is purer energy to an almost spiritual degree. That's also the reason why your Spirit raises your MP. As for the crazy talk…" the fairy responded before she started looking for something. When the item was found she gave it to the Uzumaki. The device looked like a much smaller wireless radio communicator colored in white. "Here. Put this on one of your ears. It creates a small cloak around your head that hides the fact your talking to me. To everyone else, it will look like your singing something in a low voice or you didn't move your lips. It also covers any sound made by either one of us."

At the explanation, Naruko thanked the fairy and placed the item on her right ear. She felt a quick tingle that made her shake a little but other than the brief moment nothing happened. The Navi promised her that everything was working correctly so with a nod the gamer proceeded to exit the apartment building.

With no real destination in mind and her wristwatch saying it was still 10:28 am Naruko just decided to walk around the village. During her whole life, she has managed to survive through luck and instincts so she chose to let the fates work their magic. Hence, she walked in random directions to see what would happen. It was during this walk that she found a few shops here and there that were marked on the map but none triggers the fast travel icons. It was starting to get irritating and she was about to start walking to a place she knew when something caught her eye around one of the alleyways.

Normally a normal person would have ignored such a thing given that areas like that were where you ended up getting stabbed and robbed of your belongings. Naruko Uzumaki however, was anything but normal which is why she went straight for that alley with a second thought. What she found strange however was that she noticed that people looked into the alley and then quickly looked away while picked up their pace. This made the blonde picked up her own pace towards that alley. She remembered that type of behavior from when she was six and she still bared the ugly jagged scar right where her liver is.

Sure enough, there was a man at the end of the alley the even at this distance reeked of cheap alcohol. The drunkard was yelling at something being held by his left hand as his right fist hand already connected with what he was holding. Benihime gasped as she noticed the women shaking on weak legs so much that they were only holding her because the man had her by the hair.

* * *

**~New Quest~**

[**Affinity Quest: Resolve the incident**]

[Description – Something caught your eye and you decided to investigate. Now you found a woman in distress! Will you choose to save her or walk away?]

[WARNING! The system will not give a reward for this quest. Whatever rewards you gain will be based on the results of your actions and what the affected person thinks of you.]

* * *

"You aren't so proud now that your bitch isn't here to protect you, huh?!" the drunk man yelled into the woman's face. The female was either brave or had accepted her fate and wanted to go with dignity because spat her bloody saliva at his face. That seemed to enraged him a great deal and was about to deliver another punch her if not for the metal trash can lid that nailed him on the face.

As he yelled in pain and held his face, he let go of the woman who fell on her knees. Naruko having known that an opening that was about to appear had taken off running behind the trash lid. Not a moment after the lid hit, she was already close to the man and proceeded to do a jump kick him straight to his side. The original assailant didn't stand a chance and was sent toppling to the ground in great pain. Then when Naruko landed and place herself between the man and woman was she used **Scan** on her new opponent.

Hoyo Lv? ~Obsess Ex~ (Drunk)

HP ?

MP ?

ATK ?

DEF ?

SPD ?

INT ?

Those results made the kunoichi click her tongue in frustration and worry. Whoever this Hoyo was his level was way over her own. A level 3 miniboss had already proved to be a problem and now she just walked into a fight with a human clearly above her abilities. Then to make matters worse she noticed the man's clothes and it made her curse. The drunkard was wearing the same type of outfit Iruka-sensei wore so that meant she was at the very least a Chunin.

"Who… Who are you?" a voice behind her asked in surprise. Naruko turned her head slightly look over the female in distress. The woman looked to be between her mid-twenties to very early thirties. Had the most striking light blonde hair that almost looked like transparent gold. The one eye that could visible was brilliant amethyst, regretfully the other was closed because of a black eye. The next thing the whiskered girl noticed about the was that she was extremely pale almost as if someone forgot to color her. Then to top it off the woman was wearing a very form-fitting forest green cheongsam that reached her knees. To finish the look, she had a pair of green sandals.

"Right now, I'm your savior." Naruko proclaimed proudly with a smile. Yet at seeing her face the woman gasped. The Uzumaki knew and dreaded that type of gasp.

"You're the demon child!" the injured woman exclaimed in surprise at seeing the most hated person in the village standing before her. The whiskered girl frowned at that but returned her gaze at the drunk getting up. Right now, he had a more pressing matter.

"You demon bitch!" he growled trying to get up. "You'll pay for this!"

"Really now?" Naruko taunted while readying herself for battle. Benihime also started floating about ready to help out. "I like to see you try!" she added with a bit more bravado. Then she felt a hand roughly grabbed her right arm and started pulling her away from the alleyway.

"No! We run now!" the albino woman screamed as she pulled the Uzumaki as hard as she could while running away.

"What the-" was all Naruko and Benihime could say as the woman pulled them away.

"GET BACK HERE WITH MY WOMAN!" Hoyo screamed in utter rage.

Soon enough the two humans plus fairy were running/flying through the street, stalls and other alleys to escape the drunkard. Naruko was truly surprised at how well the woman ran through the streets and almost smile at how easily they evaded that fight. That thinking seemed to tempted fate just the right amount as the dagger flew right by her face and embedded itself into the woman's thigh. The albino screamed in pain and fell on the ground. The moment that happened people started screaming and giving that the "demon brat" was there soon the blame was being sent her way.

"Get away from my wife you demon!" a familiar voice demanded. "How dare you chance and stab her, you monster?!" It seemed dear Hoyo managed to get to some of his senses and used her bad publicity as a shield for his activities. "I'll kill you for that!"

At that shout, he practically threw himself at the child and the fairy yelled for her to dodge. Yet the kunoichi in training just knew that if she moved now her opponent would continue moving a probably kill the albino female. Then he would probably say that it was her doing, that she tricked him into killing his love and the next thing she knew that whole village would be asking for her head.

In moments the sound of a blade cutting through flesh was heard round the streets. People remained silent in shock at was just transpired. As blood dripped on the ground, even the attacker was left speechless at how things turned out. After all, it was not every day you saw someone stop a knife by using their hand as a shield. Then the demon brat firmly grasped the hand wielding the jagged dagger with enough force to surprise the man.

"You know that the best part of being this close?" Naruko asked with a vicious grin forming on her lips. Then as she rose her eyes to meet her attacker's some of the people swore the demon's eyes were glowing with blue dust. Only the woman she was protecting managed to see a rusted kunai appearing in the young girl's right hand. "I don't have to aim!"

With that yell, the child quickly flickered her arm and wrist. The kunai vanished and the next thing everyone knew Hoyo was screaming bloody murder while clutching his face were the knife had just stabbed him through the eye. As the man screamed he had let go of the dagger still sticking on the Uzumaki's left hand. Seeing an opening and throwing caution to the wind Naruko grabbed the knife and ripped it out of her hand.

[Warning! The user had been afflicted with **Bleeding** status!]

The whiskered girl ignored that message and grasps the jagged dagger with both of her hands. Then with a scream of her own, she ran at the drunkard with the blade sideways. The man opened his one good eye just in time to see the demon brat already on him. The poor excuse for a shinobi didn't have a chance to move out of the way as he was stabbed. He and every other male present wished he had been stabbed in the stomach too bad Naruko hadn't raised her arms that high.

As the drunkard clutched whatever was left of his wounded manhood Naruko looked around for anything else to hit her opponent with. She found it in the form of a bicycle from one of the pedestrians surrounding them. Before anyone could see, asked or deny her plan she had grabbed the bicycle ran to Hoyo and smash the entire vehicle, side first, on his head. After that, she used a quick coagulant to cure her bleeding and ran to the albino woman that was still on the ground. Not even asking for permission the Uzumaki lifted her in a princess carry and soon both of them were out of there.

"Quick! Tell me where you were taking us!" Naruko demanded at the surprised woman. "I'm pretty sure I just stunned him with those attacks at most!"

"Oh yes! You need to…" the woman then explained the directions where she was tacking them. Benihime quickly memorized said directions and created a moving green arrow just a few feet ahead of her mistress. The fairy then hastily explained that the arrow was programmed to signal where they need to move to reach their new destination. The gamer gave a fast thank you and forced herself to run faster. Only the Navi noticed how the kunoichi was unconsciously fulling her legs with chakra to run faster.

In moments they arrived at what looked like a café from the outside. Naruko managed to stop herself from crashing into the doors when they got there. Hence, she was able to push them open without breaking the glass. She completely ignored the other woman in uniform cleaning or stepping on tables. Instead, she looked for the closest chair and place the woman on it. Then she looked at the dagger stuck on the woman's thigh.

"Don't pull it!" the purple eye female protested. "I think it hit an artery!" At those words, Naruko frowned because she didn't know if that was correct but she did know if it was true the woman could bleed out before they could get help. Then just like that, her eye widened and she smirked.

"Don't worry about that lady." the jacket wearer announced while grabbing the handle of the dagger. "I got it covered." After that, she ignores the protest of all the women in the room and yanked the dagger out. The albino female understandably screamed in pain but Naruko quickly applied a coagulant to the wound which stopped the bleed immediately. Next, she cast **First Aid** three times on the woman who briefly glowed green as the spell took effect. After the glow ended, she was back to normal except a few scraps around her lips and right eye that hadn't heal completely.

"There. That should keep you from losing your leg or your life." the whiskered girl announced to the surprise of everyone in the room.

"How?" the purple-eyed female asked in a surprised gasp alongside her companions. The gamer just chuckled softly at that.

"It's a basic healing jutsu I learned to quickly heal small wounds," she explained/lied while getting back up. Then she proceeded to look around the establishment before asking "By the way, are you sure this place is safe? I'm pretty sure that guy is going to be looking for blood after what I did."

"What did she do? / Why were your hurts? / What's happening here? / Why is the demon brat here?!" Those and many similar questions greeted her after the women finally got there senses back. Naruko was about to decide to just walk out and wait for the drunkard to find her so she could lead him away from here when the woman she saved yelled.

"Enough girls!" the albino ordered with a great deal of authority. Immediately all of the uniformed females became silent. "Her name is Naruko Uzumaki and from now on this place will be a haven for her. So, I suggest you drop your problems with her because as far as I'm concerned, she's a hero. Do you understand?"

At that command, the gamer and fairy heard the females start apologizing, agreeing or thanking the Uzumaki for saving their employer. At that, the Naruko blinked and looked at the albino for answers. The older female chuckled and was about to introduce herself but was interrupted by the 12-year old's stomach growling out of hunger.

"Guess saving ladies in dark alleys from evil men can be starving work. Okay, girls! Bring out a helping of our special dish for my little heroine!"

After that, the woman asked Naruko to sit while they waited for the food. Then she introduced herself as Ming-Ming and the owner of this bar called _The Mint Lily_. She also promised that while she would not dare serve liquor to a minor her doors would always be opened to the small Uzumaki. Naruko looked around the bar and while she had never been in one before she could tell this one was designed to look conformable. The bar top like all other tables was made of well polished and cleaned wood. Behind it was a large collection of bottles ready to serve. The tables were placed about in small groups around the right side of the establishment and close to an arena were a band or musician could play for the patrons.

Then on the left side, the whiskered girl noticed two billiard tables, an air hockey table and on the wall a dartboard she given that shape of the darts Naruko could tell it was the safe magnet type. Then the Uzumaki also noticed some paint around the walls. What surprised her about these paintings was that most of not all were of women either hugging, pressing their foreheads together or holding hands in different positions in very romantic settings. The blue-eyed girl blushes more than once at some of them. She had only seen such display of affection in a manga or two she had very well hidden in her room. She had always thought of it like a dirty little secret that she would never let anybody, not even Jiji. Yet here was this adult woman and owner of her store displaying such forbidden scenes.

That woman noticed the girl's reaction to the paintings and worriedly asked her if they made her uncomfortable. The smaller blonde blush and shook her head but did ask why there were so many paintings of so many different pretty ladies being friends all about. Ming-Ming giggles at how the little girl seemed to stress the word friend when describing the paintings. The giggle just made the Uzumaki blush harder and wish the ground swallowed her. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see the owner smiling gently at her. Naruko would call it almost motherly if she knew how that felt.

"It's okay dear. You don't have to worry about hiding it here." the purple-eyed woman stated reassuringly. Then she pointed to the paintings with her head "Those are portraits of lesbian couples out on romantic dates. I put them on the walls to remained and help the girls that come understand that their feelings are normal. It okay to feel different when you see everyone else attracted to the opposite sex unlike you but that doesn't mean it wrong."

"Wha…wait you're the same!?" Naruko exclaimed in amazement at the possibility of finding someone like her. Then she heard a chuckle as her plate of fried rice that was filled with different types of meat.

"The owner, as well as most of us, employs and our customers are lesbians looking for a place to relax and find girls of like minds. Though from time to time we do get a straight girl of two looking to get away from men or maybe experience what it's like." a girl with black hair in a high pony-tail and brown eye said. Naruko took a look female and noticed she was around 18-20 at best wearing the establishment's uniform which consisted of dark forest green and black pants.

"Thank you, Rinka-chan." the owner told to the employee.

"My pleasure Ming-sama." Rinka responded with a bow. Then she turned towards the whiskered girl and bowed low. "Thank you again for saving her for us. She is more than just an employer for many of us. So, you have my gratitude as well as the girls."

Naruko and Benihime then heard multiple agreements alongside pleasantries that for once in the Uzumaki's life felt genuine. Therefore she nodded thanks and welcomes at the females before digging into her food. It wasn't ramen but that didn't take away how incredible it tasted which she informed with a grin. That had won her a few points with the cooks. After that, the Uzumaki proceeded to make small talk with the owner or employ that would pass by.

There she learned a few things like that _The Mint Lily_ was a very popular place among kunoichi. Because of this, they ended up with a lot of civilian girls and women wanting to explore a new side of themselves. Also, this place worked with an expectation of privacy and became a haven for those that wanted to keep their private lives private. The talking was going so well and natural that Naruko and Ming-Ming had forgotten about the episode that had made them cross paths until the door opened. The people plus fairy look to the entrance and gasped.

After all, it was not every day that the one and only Hokage walks into your bar. Due to the constant exposure to them, from either being around the Hokage or being chased by them, Naruko knew he was flanked by two ANBU though it was still hard to pinpoint where they were hiding. Either way, the owner and employees got up to bow to the leader of the village with the proper reverence for the man. Naruko just stayed in her chair and yelled "Hello Jiji!" before she went back to finishing her food. The old man chuckled over both the girl's way of addressing him and the slightly mortified look on some of the women.

"You know, one of these days I'll make you can be Hokage-sama." Sarutobi commented with a smirk. It was kind of refreshing being called like that. Not even his sons or grandson showed so little respect for his title. Naruko in response just shrugged like every other time he had said that.

"Just wait until I become an official kunoichi. Then I'll give you the proper respect during the process of getting and delivering missions." the Trickster Queen told with a smirk. Then she asked, "By the way, why are you here?" In response to the thing, the Hokage pull out a wanted poster with the Uzumaki's face printed on it. The women and fairy gasped at the printed face grinning while the owner of said face laughs heartily. "Wow, they actually pulled those out again? The last time I saw them was when I accidentally drank your coffee two years back!"

At the mention of that dark and terrible day, the people shivered at the memory. Naruko even heard an "I still have nightmares of that day." coming from one of the chairs. She quickly but discretely used **Scan** in that area. All she got for her troubles was the sight of a human outline covered in static standing beside the chair. It made her raise an eyebrow at the fact she didn't even a name but shucked it up to the ANBU using a cloaking jutsu that hid them even from her ability.

The Hokage, on the other hand, raised his eyebrow at having felt the young girl release that small burst of chakra around the room. Normally with the small dose used and how it was dispersed people would not have sensed it. However, he was a trained shinobi with decades worth of experience under his belt which meant he was able to tell a sensing technique being used. It did make him wonder how the girl learned such a jutsu considering she had never shown skill before.

'_Maybe she's a later bloomer?_' he thought while he remembered such chases happening from time to time over his many years of service. Still, that was a question for another day as right now she had to deal with a situation that had come to his attention.

"Student Uzumaki and Ming-san, it has come to my attention a situation has happened between you two and a third party. From the reports giving by police, it seemed that you, student Uzumaki, have kidnapped Ming-san from one shinobi of Chunin rank named Hoyo. Then during your escape with the victim, you injured Hoyo by way of stabbing him in the eye and his nether regions. Then you hit him in the head with a bicycle before running away once more with the victim. Is this all true Student Uzumaki?" Sarutobi questions with the same professional voice you would expect him to use when interrogation en enemy shinobi.

He had used that tone because he wanted everyone to know how serious this situation was. Just by entering here he could tell the kidnapping part of the report was completely bogus. However, that still left that part where the resident pariah of the village was seen attacking a ranked shinobi in the middle of the street. Normally he could ignore her pranks and slightly random acts of chaos that she used to mask acts of petty revenge against people that wronged her for two reasons.

The first one is an arrangement he made with the ANBU Commander to use the little Uzumaki's little acts of mayhem as training for new and old recruits since the girl had proven to be very devious when it came to making traps or finding escape routes. That alone had helped a great deal of them detect possible deathtraps, alarm or hidden passages when they were out in the field though they would deny that even on their last breath. The second reason was that all of the running and escaping help teach and train the young kunoichi those same aspects in a way that people would not fight back with excuses for him playing favoritism.

Yet now he found himself in a position where he might very well not be able to save the girl. He smirked internally when he noticed the little Trickster Queen didn't even bat an eye at his tone. She was so calm and collected she could even take another bite of her food. Then he noticed Ming-san was the first adult to react to the accusations. The albino female started saying her side of the story as quickly and clearly as she could to make sure her savior was seen as such.

She even started from a point way before Naruko was a part of the story. It was during this that everyone learned that Hoyo had been bothering her while she was shopping for the supplies the bar need. Multiple times she had told him to back off in far harsher words. At some point it seemed like he had given up for the day but for them when she had finally let her guard down, he appeared again and dragged her into the alleyway. From there she told them how he started yelling and beating her for "not being his woman or knowing her place." The worst part of it is that she had seen multiple people pass by and didn't even try to help until Naruko showed up.

After that, with the help of Naruko, they told him everything that happened up until he got here. At the end of the talk, the elderly man sighed for two reasons: happiness and exhaustion. The happiness was over that fact that someone other than the usual three plus him had stood up for the little Uzumaki. The exhaustion was because this was another case of people using the whiskered girl's position to try and put down her once more.

'_I have seriously failed and three of you… Minato-kun, Kushina-chan and most of all you Naruko-kun._' the old shinobi thought regretfully before thanking the Ming-Ming. "I seriously have to thank you for helping clear up that grievous misunderstanding. It seems people were too quick to judge the situation base on false information. I'll make sure that is correct soon. As for Hoyo, he will be arrested effective immediately and especially so since he broke the rules of his probation."

"Probation?" both Naruko and Ming asked in unison. The kage nodded in affirmation to the question.

"Yes, the fool attacked a client during a mission and to make it worst he was intoxicated while on duty. Rest assured he will be stripped of his rank and feel the full extent of the law." Sarutobi informed them. Naruko shook her head in disapproval of the drunkard's idiocy while Ming scoffed.

"Hopefully now something will be done about him." the albino growled under her breath but everyone managed to hear it.

"Come again?" the Hokage asked with a serious look on his face. The purple-eyed woman got the message and explained it.

"About a year ago, I filed charged for stalking and harassment against him but the police did nothing because they apparently couldn't find enough cause."

"I see, if that is true it was not shown in his files. Had I known that his original punishment would have been more severe." the leader of the village commented. Then he noticed that the whiskered student was dutifully raising her hand. He almost chuckled at how young she looked doing that. "Yes, Naruko-kun?"

"Did you really have to come here and ask? I know for a fact an ANBU was tailing me since I came out of my apartment. There is always an ANBU trailing me when I'm out and about. It's was a real pain losing them at the start when I wanted to pull a prank." the gamer questioned and revealed a little too much. Many of the adults blinked at that and at the same time the Uzumaki, unknowingly, provided a perfect excuse her the sensor ability that the Hokage had felt her used. It made the old man chuckle like a proud grandfather.

"Yes, there was an ANBU following you and they reported everything to me but I wanted to hear your perspective. I'm surprised you didn't embellish the truth to make look cooler like you usually do Naruko-kun."

"I thought I was already looking super awesome in the story." the little heroine told with a smirk and a shrug. "Besides, I have to learn how to be humble."

'_Glad to know you're learning._' every adult thought with a sweat-drop at the "humble bragging" they just heard. Nonetheless, it was the Hokage that recovered first.

"Well, now that this matter is done, I will take my leave and work on resolving the misunderstanding. I, however, suggest you be careful during the rest of the day Naruko-kun. The news may travel fast but gossip is a monster all on its own."

"Trust me, I know." the Uzumaki acknowledged with a nod. However, as the kage was about to leave he turned back and asked.

"Before a leave, may I ask what brought about this new look, Naruko-kun?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean my new clothes, right? ***shrug*** Just felt like it was time to change. After all, in two months I'll be an official kunoichi. Once that's done, I'm coming for that hat, dattebayo!"

"And I'll be waiting."

With that one of the two oldest living shinobi in history walked out of the bar and left the woman there to breathe a sigh of relief. But just then Benihime finally remembered something about the interaction with the now ex-shinobi. She quickly told this to Naruko who asked the question to Ming.

"Ming-Ming-san?" Naruko started asking "I just remembered that Hoyo said something about a woman protecting you. Who did he mean?" at the question the gamer and fairy both noticed the albino woman's face suddenly light up with a smile of pure delight.

"That would be my fiancé. At jonin kunoichi named Yachiko and she's also the one responsible for a lot of these paintings." Ming-Ming answered while looking at the paintings hanged around the bar. Somehow the smile on her lips seemed to grow even more. "Besides me, her hobby has always been painting. She said it helps her deal and decompress from the stress the life of being a ninja brings."

"Wait a minute, you're both women! How can you get married?" Naruko questioned in surprise. Especially so when it wasn't until now that she noticed that ring on the woman's hand. Hearing that question brought an amused chuckle to the older blonde before she started explaining.

"Because it's legal in Konohana since almost the beginning. Rumor has it that a very good friend of the wife of the 1st Hokage wanted to marry the man of his life about it was illegal. So, Lady Senju decided that she would not give the 1st anything until an unbreakable law was passed down that made homosexual married as legal as a straight marriage. Given that law has never been revoked it's a good guess to say her plan worked."

"That's… that actually a really interesting story." Naruko commented and field that information for later. Then she finished the rest of her food and got up. "Regretfully, I think I must go since I have things to do and possible people to meet."

"Wait! You heard the Hokage and saw the poster. People might be hunting for you right now." one of the waitresses called out with worry. Somehow that worry summoned a very dark chuckle and accompanying smirk to the whiskered face. They also noted that for a brief moment the girl's eyes glowed with blue dust.

"Oh, trust me I'm counting on that. Besides, if I give ANBU trouble when they want to find me how hard do you think it will be for regular civilians."

With -that the gamer pulled the orange fox hood over her head and in a burst of speed, she was gone without a trance.

"Suddenly I feel sorry for anyone trying to get that reward." another staff member commented.

"Well…" Ming-Ming started with laughter in her purple eyes. "It's their problem for being idiots."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(07:45 pm)

~Front of Naruko's apartment building~

Just like Naruko had imagined and the Hokage had predicted. There had been a few groups of two to six people here or there trying to collect that bounty on the blonde. Yet it seemed as if an ordered had gone to all shinobi not to do this because neither Naruko or Benihime could find one among the armature bounty hunters. Hence it had been rather easy for the Uzumaki to travel around as barely anyone recognizes her in her new clothes. Even the ones that did notice her fox hood just glared but couldn't properly see her face.

Hence moving around the village didn't prove to be such a hassle. This especially so during the time she took the road known as "the ninja high way" (the rooftops) around Konohagakure. Anyway, after the little adventure, they had with the owner of the _Mint Lily_ both Naruko and Benihime agree it would be faster to first find places the Uzumaki knew about. With that in mind, the first place they went to was the Ichiraku Ramen just to get that Fast Travel point out of the way. After that Naruko proceeded to run around finding the ninja academy, the Hokage office building were shinobi went to take missions, the Hokage monument behind the office, they randomly found the Library after Benihime managed to read the sign, the area with various training grounds and much to Naruko's delight an arcade call _Digital Gods_.

After all of that running around and looking at the time, they decided to call it a day. Wanting to try out her new Fast Travel system Naruko had opened her map and clicked on her apartment building. Then when she confirmed that was where she wanted to go, she was shot like a cannonball into the sky. When she finally stopped her ascension the Uzumaki regretfully looking down as her eyes almost pop out of her skull. From this high up she could see everything within the great white walls defending the village. Then she was rocketed to the ground but before she could even have a chance to scream her feet were firmly and securely planted in the ground as if nothing had happened.

She still had to wait until Game Mind to finally activate for her legs to stop shaking though.

"Don't worry Naruko-chan! I'm sure you'll get used to it after you started using it more." Benihime said we cheerful grin.

"Hopefully…" the blonde begged through gritted teeth.

"Well, why don't we go in to eat something and then start smithing!"

Naruko nodded at the suggestion and proceeded to climb up to her apartment. Once in her house, she shed her clothes and a screen popped asking if she wanted the clothing washed. Not thinking twice, she accepted and unequipped everything. After the bath and a quick mean consisting of a hot bacon pizza that was in the food section of the store, the girls found themselves in the leaving room.

"Okay, I guess the first thing is first, right? That would mean I should use the blacksmithing book now, correct?"

"Correct. Then you can summon the Fun-Size Forge so you can make your first items."

The Uzumaki gave a nod of understanding and used the book. Once more it shattered like glass and its pieces flew into her. Somewhat similar to the entomology book Naruko somehow now knew the basics of working with the metal, fire, acid, oil and water needed to create basic tools or weapons. Besides that, she also gained the basic knowledge on how to use the tools need to craft something in a forgery or a workshop. Then to her surprise, she also somehow learned to work with other materials like leather, stone, glass, crystal, monster parts and even other magical items. Unlike the first skill book this time the amount of new information gave the girl a small headache that made her moan in pain. She held her head for a few moments before the pain started going away.

"Guess some skill are harder to understand than others the first time around," she commented while blinking the residual pain away.

"That or maybe your body still getting used to your new powers." the fairy theorized. After that question, she floated to the gamer and patted the girl's head in support. "When you feel ready you can summon the FSF, okay?"

It was only a couple of seconds later that Naruko felt okay enough to function. Then she summoned the forge in front of her. Once invoked the items description appeared before them:

* * *

{**KEY ITEM**}

Fun-Size Forge |Epic|

Description – It's a forge but fun-size! Now you can take the forge with you wherever you are in the world. Just set it up in a camp or stay in a safe zone, pick up that hammer, put your materials into the forge and start hitting that iron! However, be careful when trying to make something above your skill level because if you fail those components are gone.

* * *

The girl whistle as the description went away. Then she saw Fun-Size Forge and her eye twitched. The contraption had been made with an adult in mind when it was considered small. She thought this because for her it was almost felt like a regular size forge given that she needed to stand fully to reach over the tallest part.

As for the forged itself, it was colored in shades of purple and light purple with the borders made of solid gold just like its four legs. The main body was a big rectangular slab with a cylindrical vase at its top away from where one would be forging. The slab seemed to have a mechanism where it could lower different parts of its interior to form that shape of whatever was going to be worked on. The top of the lid had a big green jewel orb similar to the other three she saw on the sides of the forge. Each of these orbs seemed to glow softly and gentle with either chakra or mana because, at this point, she couldn't tell the difference. Around the vase, there seems to be an arc with openings on the inside ready to pour the melted materials from inside the vase onto the slab. Naruko also noticed a red button that seemed to be made of ruby with the word "OPEN" imprinted on it with white letters. Then on the right side of the forge, she noticed a hammer with the same purple and gold color scheme.

"So… how do I make this work?" Naruko questioned while grabbing the hammer. To her surprise even though it looked incredibly heavy to her it felt as light a feather. Thanks to her blacksmithing knowledge she knew just how to wield this instrument.

"Just press the OPEN button. After that, a menu screen should open telling you what type of armor or weapon you can create and what items are needed."

Sure enough, the gamer did as what she was told and a menu did appear. Knowing that tonight was just a simple test run she just looked for a shield for the hell of it. The first option in the shield category that appeared was one called Egg Shield. To make it she only needed 10 of the materials labeled "eggshells" and it said she had 99 of those which were probably the ones she got from killing the roach empress. The blonde confirmed that she wanted to use them.

The lid popped open with a small click and the eggshells flew into the forge which closed far they went in. Naruko saw the glow of the orbs intensify before she felt the temperature raise to the point both females started sweating. Then she noticed a white-hot substance crawl out of the openings and onto the standard shield indentations that appeared on the slab. After this is was like her body moved on its own and she proceeded to strike the liquid into shape. From hard to soft, slow or quick the hammer struck time and time again the magical material until its shape was completed. Then the final hit was given and Naruko just knew it was done. As if responding her thoughts the forge seem to summon water to rapidly cool down the shield. The steam lasted for only a few seconds before it was gone and her first creation was revealed.

* * *

{**EQUIPMENT**}

White Egg Shield |Common|

Description – A small shield in the form of an egg created from the shells of various monster eggs.

+2DEF

Weapon Skill: Hard-Boiled – Adds +10DEF if the user is afflicted with the Burn status.

* * *

"Is it me or is that ability weird and troublesome?" the gamer questioned with a raised eyebrow as she looked at her first creation. During her examination, she noticed that the shield while small for an adult it worked perfectly for a child. She also noticed a text-box saying that so long as she had her scythe equipped, she couldn't equip the shield which the blonde had already expect would happen given that scythe classified as a two-handed weapon. The last thing she noticed before putting the shield in storage was that on the inner part right above the handle there was the same emblem of a curled fox-like with the ring her scythe was in. '_Guess that means that's my forging brand then or at least the one the system assigned to me._' she thought with a small grin.

"What did you expect from materials so easily gotten from just one fight?" Benihime asked her companion in response to the previous question.

"You might be right on that one." Naruko agreed before a strong yawned overtook her. "Guess that means it's time to sleep." she added after it.

"Well today has been an eventful day." the fairy agreed.

Thus, the gamer put the forge back into her inventory and went to sleep on her bed. After all, tomorrow would be her first day in the academy as a whole new person. Before sleep took her, she gave one last look at her level progress.

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv3] ~ Trickster Queen~

XP: 84 / 264

HP: 91 / 91

MP: 1,444 / 1444

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

**Author notes:**

Yes, the Fun-Size Forge is the same one you use in Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. I loved that game and thought to incorporate a thing or two from the series.

* * *

**Grammar Update**: 08/17/2019

**MP UPDATE**: 01/19/2020


	4. Training or mini-game?

**Chapter 4: Training or mini-game?**

Today was a new day in Konohagakure and from once in history, the person known as Uzumaki Naruko was up early. This was thanks to her new companion sure but it still counted. Hence, she was able to have a decent breakfast and still have enough time left to prepare for school. Benihime had promised to take care of the notes for now so that they could study at night for Naruko's benefit. That meant the fairy would read the information copied and help the Uzumaki rewrite it as practice. Thus, the gamer put on the clothes she bought yesterday and went out. The blonde didn't know how but the system had cleaned and dried perfectly.

Once they were out of the apartment building Naruko, against her better judgment, upon the map on the Navi's behest. Then she confirmed the Ninja Academy as her destination and the transportation was activated. Just like before she flew and landed in front of the academy in a span of milliseconds. This time she had at least closed her eyes and waited for her feet to feel the solid ground so the scare factor was ignored. Unbeknownst to her, since her eyes were closed at the time, to the students and parents leaving their children that were present it looked like the Uzumaki had materialized in a small gust of wind.

Later, when people finally realize it was her, this event would create a rumor that the whiskered girl had somehow created a wind version of the **Body Flicker Jutsu**.

Not bothering to hear or see the reaction of the people present, out of learned habit, the girl put her hands in her jacket's pockets and walked towards the entrance to the building. As she walked that girl did notice a few things and one of which made her eye twitch annoyance. The first thing she noticed was that neither that students nor teacher seem to recognizer given that she was getting curious looks instead of the usual glares or sneers. The next thing was that she could see was everyone's names, levels, HP and MP bars on top of their heads. But it became rather infuriating quickly when she started seeing first-year students already at levels 6 or higher.

The feeling of inadequacy became far stronger the farther she went into the higher grade areas and less information became available. By the time she got to her classroom all she could see over people's heads were just their names plus green HP or blue MP bars. Worst was that no matter how many times she tried to use **Scan** on them it still showed questions marks on their stats. Sighing in acceptance and with some reassurance from her loyal companion this was just temporary Naruko opened that door to her classroom.

Immediately she regretted it with a groan that was only audible to the tiny redhead.

"What's wrong Naruko-chan?"

"It's that idiot Sasuke. He messed up and sat on my chair by the window. Now the harpies are fighting to see who can get a piece of him."

"Harpies?" the small creature asked. Then she looked forward and found what looked like the entire female populace of the room gathered around a lone boy dressed in blue and white. From here she could hear they were fighting over got to sit on the chair beside him. The fairy blinked as her voice came out flat "Oh, fangirls. I suggest you sit somewhere else. That is unless you want a piece of him too."

"I would think yesterday's little adventure would have clued you into the fact that I prefer girls?"

"I remember you just saying that you like girls not that you don't like boys. People that like both genders do exist after all."

"I… I didn't know that was possible," Naruko commented at the tidbit of information. Filing that for a later date, if it ever proved useful, she asked "Where can I sit now, anyway? I sat by the window and in the front specifically because it wouldn't bother people. Even from a young age, I could tell people didn't like me."

"But sitting in the front would have made it easier for people to glare at you."

"Hidden reason number two why I wore a neon orange jumpsuit. The color was so harsh that looking at it for an expensive period would cause you eye pain and headache."

"How very cruel yet effective," Benihime commented with a smirk. At the same time, she felt like that kind of explained the mercilessness the girl showed against the roach queen. Then the Navi did a quick scan of the room for a possible place to sit and found one. "Why don't you sit at the very back besides that cute girl. She was been staring at you with curiosity since the moment you entered. Also, even from here, I feel she doesn't hold any hostility towards you. The only time I felt that from just encountering someone in this village was when we meet the Hokage. Even Ming-Ming and the girls feared you the first moment they saw you."

Naruko raised an eyebrow at that description and looked to where the fairy was pointing. There she found a girl that looked about 8 inches taller than the Uzumaki. Said Uzumaki, like a lot of days in her life, cursed to every god she knew for making her the size of a footstool. Getting back to the girl, from here Naruko could see the kunoichi in training was wearing a large beige color jacket with blue hair cut in a short princess style. During this examination, their eyes met for a brief moment before the girl quickly ducked her head down.

Naruko raises an eyebrow at that but shrugged think it was natural for one to shy away when caught staring. Either way, the whiskered blonde proceeded to calmly walk up the stairs and towards the chair on the girl's left. During this walk, she noticed some of the boys stopped talking or doing whatever it was they were doing to stare at her. On more than one occasion the girls heard some of them comment on the size of the blonde's chest (probably because she was the only one in this room with one) or "Dude, she has legs for days" as one Kiba Inuzuka drooled out. She made sure to give him a tooth filled smirk as she flipped him off while she passed him by. At his blushing face, Akamaru could be seen chuckling which earned the dog a call of traitor from his embarrassed partner.

But since it just little boys seeing a girl for the first time that was the worst it got. It made the gamer smirk deviously at the thought of how they would react when she finally used that secret transformation she had been working on. Still, after flipping Kiba nothing else happened on the way up and she reached her destination without a problem. There Naruko put on the most normal and friendly smile she could make before talking to the blue-haired girl.

"Hello there. Is it okay if I sit here?" the whiskered asked gently. Benihime didn't bother to comment on how the low tone that Uzumaki was using sounded like that of a stereotypical Casanova Prince in an all-girls school anime. Giving how the blue-haired girl started blushing the fairy just knew the kunoichi in training wouldn't stand a chance against those levels of charm.

"Y-y-yes." the blushing preteen stuttered out. For some reason, Naruko found the stutter a little cute given how it made her giggle slightly. The fairy would say that was more of a husky chuckled and the blushing girl would be very inclined to agree. Nonetheless, the blonde sat beside that girl without the knowledge of what her presence was doing to the slightly taller girl. Then she turned to her classmate with her hand extended in greeting.

"Hi! I'm Naruko Uzumaki. What's your name?" she asked. Her eye had already shown her the girl's name with the floating letter but she felt the need to ask anyway. After all, this was the first time she had ever spoken with this lavender eyed cutie. Although the bluenette did remind her of an almost long-forgotten memory of a girl she had to save from a pack of bullies years ago during winter. '_I wonder whatever happened to her._'

"My n-n-name is H-H-Hinata H-H-Hyuga." Hinata introduced herself while shaking the hand given to her. She blushed even harder when Naruko gave her a small grin.

"Your hand is ready soft. That must be a really good hand cream to keep your palms this soft even though you trained so hard. I can tell you do from how strong your hand feels." the gamer commented while examining the hand in hers. Again, the fairy and Hyuga would agree it was more like delicately caressing the hand.

'_I can't believe she's acting like this so naturally! Can it be she became a natural charmer as a part of the Game Mind? I know that skill makes it so you're calm and collected but I didn't think it would up the charm that much!_' Benihime thought in bewilderment as she saw how her mistress was acting.

"I-i-it's not hand c-c-cream. It's my family's t-t-taijutsu." Hinata replied after retrieving her hand. "The chakra t-t-that is passing t-t-through our h-h-hands massages the m-m-muscles in it. It's a s-s-side effect," she answered and got a smile of genuine interest as her reward.

"That's an interesting side effect. Being able to punch a guy in the face and still have baby smooth hands. Very fitting for a kunoichi." the whiskered girl praised with another genuine smile. Then again, could you blame her? Here she was thinking that in this whole classroom she had been the only girl that thought seriously about being a true shinobi. This was one of the many reasons she didn't have any female friends other than Ayame-oneechan or Katana-nee who she hadn't see a while. Up till today, she had thought she was the only girl not obsess with the last Uchiha or only being in this class for the "pleasure and honor" of possibly being chosen as the next Lady Uchiha.

Yet here she had fund another kindred soul that wanted to prove she could not only survive in this harsh world but possibly excel in it. It made her laugh at the irony of the situation. All of this time she kept looking forward and persevering while trying to ignore all the doubt and hatred placed on her because she thought that at the end of the day she only had what it took to become a legend. But today she found out that by simply looking a little behind her she could have found a partner in crime as it were who could potentially be very loyal if she played her cards right.

'_I know it's too soon to think of her as a friend but Benihime did say Hinata-chan doesn't hate me. Plus, in my games, the Hero always has a party to help them defeat the bad guys. What's to say I can't make my group of heroes to save the world or at least take the ninja world by storm!_' Naruko thought started thinking and look intently at the lavender eyed girl beside her. '_Hinata Hyuga, you better be ready because I'm making you my friend!_'

But before the Uzumaki could open her mouth to either turned Hinata into a light that could be from space or started the process of corrupting an innocent child down the pass of the trickster the door to the classroom opened. That signaled the entrance of the Chunin instructors Iruka Umino and Mizuki. Seeing that once more the female portion of the classroom as fighting for the Uchiha he used his **Big Demon Head Jutsu** to tell them to shut up and sit. It was like a bomb had gone off as the girls scatter like flies and looked for any available chair. Somehow during all of this Sakura Haruno, one of the two top fangirls had managed to get the sit beside Sasuke. The second top fangirl was called Ino Yamanaka and she ended up in the chair two rows ups with her friends Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi. Naruko could easily tell that Ino was glaring at Sakura who had turned and blew a raspberry at the Yamanaka before going back paying attention to the instructors.

[WARNING! An optional quest will become available soon!]

Naruko blinked at the textbox that just appeared and raises an eyebrow. She asked her fairy about it but the creature just shrugged in confusion. Neither of the two noticed Hinata briefly throwing a confused look at the top of the Uzumaki's head where the Navi was sitting.

"Glad you finally took your seat students." Iruka started. "Now before we start let's take attendance-"

"Wait a moment sensei!" one of the boys called out. "Aren't you going to introduce the new student?"

"New student?" both of the instructors questioned simultaneously.

"Yeah! The hot bade stilling up there!" another boy pointed up. After that in seconds, everyone was looking at the Uzumaki with different reactions. That boys that hadn't noticed her before were now very interested in "the new hot student" but the girls were another story. From here Naruko could already hear gossip start with some of the less moral of the harpies calling her a "bitch or slut that was out to get their prince." This was in part because of the length of her hair which was shown as it was falling over her shoulders.

'_I still don't get how the rumor that "Sasuke likes girls with long hair" started. All remembered was that I once said girls with long hair are pretty and next thing I know? Boom! By the end of the day, every girl is saying the Sasuke said that girls with long hair are most beautiful._' she thought still in amazement at how a simple phrase could morph so much in a single day. Then she noticed that no one had yet to speak as if waiting for her to talk. It made her visibly smirk before she started to talk. Of course, she did change her tone just enough to sound different from her regular voice just to keep the mystery. "Don't worry everyone. Let's let Umino-sensei tell us what he wanted to say so he can take attendance. Then when my name comes up, I'll introduce myself." Not once did the smirk leave her lips.

"Oh, thank you miss." the scarred sensei thanked. However, Naruko noticed the very brief and almost unnoticeable wink the man sent her way. She almost broke into a laughing fit from how easy the chunin recognized her yet decided to for once help her with a prank. Then again, this prank was victimless and more importantly not at his expense.

Thus, the Chunin started calling out his students one by one like he normally did. All four of the people that knew the secret just kept watching as every other student waited patiently for the name of the new girl. Yet as each letter kept being eliminated some started growing anxious or irritated. Then…

"Uzumaki Naruko?"

"Present!" the honey-covered voice sang out at the far back of the room. The sudden silence could have made a pin dropping sound like a bomb going off.

As every single person turned to her slowly, they were awarded by the sight of the blonde standing on top of the desk. Not only did everyone got to see her in her new clothes but they all recognized her infamous "I got you" grin. As Iruka told her to sit down a few moments later she could only laugh at her classmates' reactions. Though the part she found the funniest was that she heard "Dude! When did Naruko get so hot?!" being whispered by _both_ genders in the classroom. Nonetheless, Iruka finished calling the remaining students and started his announcement.

"Okay, everyone! For those that don't like keeping track of your calendars, I will like to remind you only have two more months left before the Genin Exams. Therefore, starting today until then we teachers will be giving you random physical activities where you will receive a score. Depending on your accumulated score you will receive bonus points for the written part of the exam. Who knows? Maybe if you get enough points, you'll be able to skip the written portion entirely!"

* * *

**~ New Quest! ~**

[**(Optional) **Quest: Aim for the top!]

[Description – Your sensei has given you a challenge for you to test the skill you've learned. Don't let him or yourself down!

Mission: Get into at least the top 10 spots on the leader board on today's physicals]

[Reward #1: 5 attribute points

Reward #2: Random support spell Book]

[Will you accept? YES/NO]

* * *

Naruko didn't think twice and clicked the confirmation as Iruka told them they would be going to the training area. Some of the students groan at having to do exercise early in the morning but those were ignored. As such the classroom quickly reached the large training area behind the academy.

The training ground had Dummies, a target range with still and moving targets, an obstacle with the works, a climbing wall, and the most important thing the fighting rings scratched on the dirt. While Naruko was busy examining the training ground Iruka walked to the front of the class and started explaining what would happen today.

"Okay students, today we will be practicing in the target range and the climbing wall first. Half the class will go with Mizuki-sensei. This set will first use the target range and next to the climbing wall. The other half of the class will be with me and we'll work out in reverse order. After this everyone will be allowed 10 minutes to rest, drink water and/or talk to your classmates.

After that, the class will rejoin and we'll begin sparring matches. Regretfully due to the odd number of boys and girls a girl will have to fight one of the boys. This female will be chosen randomly during the team's choosing. Now, Mizuki-sensei has a box with papers that have either the letter M for Mizuki or I for Iruka. Students, please form a line and pick up a paper. Open it and show it to me to put your name on your corresponding team."

With that, everyone proceeded to their team assignment and Naruko was lucky enough to get assign to Iruka. That bad part was that she got the slip that said she was the girl that would have to fight a boy.

"Are you okay, Naruko? If you feel you can't fight…" the scarred man started talking but the girl stopped him.

"It's okay sensei. I'm used to fighting people t-t-ta… taaaaal… _taller_ than me." the short blonde voiced through gritted teeth. Suddenly all talk stopped around the training ground.

As people and more than likely students know, there exist many rules for surviving school. The ninja academy was no different just with few more rules and regulations thanks to the nature of it being a place were child soldiers where being trained. Some of those rules included things like: "Don't use poison if you don't want someone to forget where the antidote is for a while.", "Always keep your knives sharp and out of reach of idiots" or the always popular "If you plan on stealing food don't steal it from the Akimichi." Normally if you followed these rules one would survive without any problems. Heck, sometimes you could get off breaking one or two of these, and nothing dangerous or painful would happen. But there did exist one iron-clad rule for school and life in general that no one dared break for fear of what would happen.

Rule 87: Never ever make fun of Naruko Uzumaki's height or lack off.

The last person that had done it was no longer with them. Considering the whiskered girl was still taking classes with them instead of rotting in jail meant the person should be alive. But fact no one could even find a speck of evidence of where they are or who they were did left people thinking. Plus the way the girl would glare and the way her hair seems to start moving on its own when she thought someone was about to break the rule didn't help dispel the rumor.

So, when they heard the young female acknowledge that she had adapted to look up (sometimes to people younger than her) it was considered a red flag over a metric ton of explosives no one wanted to touch.

"I'm guessing by the sudden silence there's something about your height that no one wants to talk about," Benihime stated while looking around.

"I'm just waiting for my growth spurt." Naruko spat out and walked towards Hinata who was also assigned to Iruka's team. Seeing the slightly taller Hyuga made her smile gently. "Hey, Hinata-chan! We got in the same team so let's get along with each other, okay?"

As the Hyuga princess saw the dazzling smile directed at her she could only nod. For the heiress this morning had been a _very_ weird, worrying, exiting, fear-inducing and most of all had constantly put her on the edge of fainting. She had woken up, prepared, and went to school like normal. There, as usual, she waited at the far end of the room to wait for the cute and small whiskered girl. Hinata still didn't know the reason why her chest felt warm whenever she saw the girl smile but she liked the feeling. She also didn't get that particular pair of blue eyes would make her legs feel like jelly.

Then today, that cute trouble maker had walking into the room dressed in something other than her usual orange jumpsuit. At first thing she had noticed when the girl had entered the room was how comfortable and self-assured the Uzumaki seemed. It almost seemed to exude more bravado than ever before. Then the Hyuga princess had _seen_ the outfit. The number of legs being shown should be considered criminal! They just look so strong, toned, and firm from years of running around. If only she could touch just one of those thighs and–

NO! BAD HINATA!

A person of her social standing and upbringing wasn't supposed to think that. Especially if it was about a cute little hellraiser with legs trained to outrun even ANBU. Then their eye met for a second and Hinata had to look down immediately or she felt she would faint right then and there. However, the gods seem to be against her or in favor she couldn't tell right now. After all the Uzumaki was then standing before her and asking for the sit to her left. The Byakugan user would not even dare say no to that charming smile. As the blonde started to sit Hinata had tried to look somewhere else but her traitorous eyes looked chest that was once hidden by a jacket much like her own.

It had been by the grace of the gods that a hand had gotten in the way because she did not want to think were her confused mind would have wondered. A caress of her hand later the princess accepted that someone had sent an assassin to kill her. A cute little assassin that would kill her with the most alluring eye and captivating lips that fired deadly honeyed words. It was a good way to died if you asked her. Then Iruka-sensei had to go and save her for that evil fiend!

That was the point when things started to get weird. Somehow her eyes picked up a flow of chakra coming from the blonde. That made her throw a quick look at the girl and she noticed something like a light mist of chakra appear before the blonde. Then she followed the blue eye as they looked up. There she became, even more, confuse her eyes saw a small humanoid figure with cubic wings covered in blue static.

Something people didn't know about the Byakugan, mostly because it was a well-guarded secret, was that the Hyuga's could always see chakra to a degree. Don't get it wrong, they still needed to activate the Byakugan to see where it was. But when it was off, they could still detect disturbances if the concentration of chakra was just high enough. Hence, why it confused Hinata, that Naruko could see those disturbances. Then it happened again but Hinata stopped questioning it we she saw the whiskered girl touch the chakra mist and cause it to disappear.

Now here she was in the present without the support of the chair and the Uzumaki was talking to her. How was she supposed to talk without losing control of her legs!? Still, she had yet to faint so maybe she could do this. So, she gulped hard and tried to talk.

"S-S-Sure," Hinata responded. You could almost see girl patting herself in the back for a job well done.

Naruko, completely oblivious to what she was doing to the bluenette, gave a friendly smile. At this point, Benihime could only feel pity for how the Hyuga princess was being constantly attacked by those charming smiles.

'_Poor girl is probably so deep in the closet she more than likely doesn't understand what she's feeling right now._' the winged redhead thought as she saw Hinata blushing again. Next, she looked down at her companion. '_Then we have my dear mistress who I can tell doesn't know what she's doing. God help all the little lesbians if Naruko Uzumaki learns how to use her charm at will._'

Ignoring all of this the students were separated into their respective teams. Then each instructor started explaining to their teams how the courses and scoring work.

"Everyone, considering I know many of you have rarely if ever used this wall I'll explain how it works," Iruka spoke to his group. "This wall was made to simulate what it's like to climb an unstable surface. This was made possible with the incorporation of Suna's puppetry technology to create a mechanism that would move parts of the wall at irregular intervals. This means that when you least expected it will shake or remove one of your handholds." he explained then noticed a raised hand. "Yes, Aburame-san?"

"Sensei" a voice started right to the Uzumaki's left. Both the gamer and fairy nearly jumped out of their skin at that since neither could even sense Shino before he started talking. "I see that there are ropes along the wall as well as harnesses. Would it be logical to assume that given the nature of this training we will simulate the three possible ways to climb a wall: rope plus harness, rope only, and free climbing?"

"That's correct Aburame-san. Depending on the method you chose we will determine your score. 100pts for using the rope and harness, 125pts for only using the rope and 150pts for going freehand. However, these points are only given to people that managed to touch the top. Also given that chance of you falling we made sure place a safety net as well as inflatable bags to protect you from the possible high fall. You should also take into account that falling onto the safety nets or inflatable bags will account as death and no points will be given. I would also like to add that if you fully slip with the harness twice it will be considered a death due to catastrophic gear failure." the scarred chunin explained. The whiskered girl looked at the wall that, if you believed the signs, was 40 feet tall with handholds of different colors to make them easier to see.

"So free climbing is an all or nothing deal? I like it!" the girl proclaimed with an excited grin.

* * *

**~ Challenge Declared ~**

**[Challenge: Free climbing]**

[Description – You see a mountain before you and the thought of climbing it excites you. However, against the proper guidelines of safety and common sense, you think using protective gear just won't get your blood pumping enough.]

[Mission: Reach to the top without using safety gear.]

[Reward: Agility permanently increases by 2pts]

[Failure (falling) will reduce your agility by 5pts for 24hrs.]

* * *

The blonde hair girl widened her eyes at the implication of that challenge. If what she was thinking was correct that meant the system will make sure she misses the safety nets and bags just so she could break one of both legs to inflict the agility reduction. She told the fairy of her thoughts and they were confirmed when the codes in the quest were checked.

The girl quickly felt the calming effect of Gamer Mind activating. Once calmed she took off her fox hoodie and tied the sleeves around her waist. It did surprise her a little when doing so made her leather bracers appeared but didn't give it any thought. As far as she could tell no one noticed that so she didn't care. After that, she waited for her turn alongside Hinata. For the most part, they didn't talk much as instead they started stretching and warming up to get ready for their turn. This had been an idea suggested by Benihime which Naruko passed to Hinata who Shino joined them with the excuse that they had the proper idea to avoid unnecessary injury.

As for the order of participation Iruka had chosen to have the students go in teams of four at random. Like the whiskered girl had to imagine based on what Iruka said some of the students looked to be climbing the wall for the first time. Most of these used the harness to not "fall to their death" as it were at quite a few these still failed. Some of the more daring sides tried to climb with just the rope but the only one that had managed to reach that top like this had been Kiba who declared it proudly. Yet during all of this Naruko noticed no one had tried to do free climb up the wall. Then came their turn to take the climb. During their walk over to the wall, the Uzumaki noticed the Yamanaka princess would be the fourth member.

"Try not to break a nail Violet." Naruko taunted with a small grin. Naruko and Ino had never really been enemies mostly because they never got in each other's way. However, for some reason, the whiskered girl had always like to rail up her fellow blonde up to see the princess maybe put a tiny bit more effort into the physical aspects of their training. This was also part of the reason why she had taken to calling Ino by the nickname Violet instead of Ino-pig or Piggy like Sakura did.

It turned out that on a whim Naruko had sneaked into a flower arranging class given by Ino's mother just to see what it was about. It was there she learned that purple flowers represented things like dignity, pride, and success. She didn't know why that the time those meanings reminded her of the Yamanaka heiress. So, when Naruko saw the girl become another fangirl she had taken to calling the light green-eyed girl Violet as a mockery of the flowers. Somehow Ino had understood the insult and it always manages to get mad because of it. Hence why after hearing that nickname the mind walker whipped her head toward the smaller girl with a fierce glare.

"Listen here Uzumaki. Just because you somehow managed to find an outfit that makes you look smoking hot doesn't mean you're better than me!"

"You think I am hot?" the smaller blonde asked in surprise. The taller of the two took a second to realize her slip but once she did her face became dusted a nice shade of pink while she tried to disguise that with indignation.

"Wha- I- No-You- They- Wait- s-s-SHUT UP!" Ino screamed in embarrassment and whipped around to the wall. To the amazement of the people watch them the girl had managed to make the tail end of her ponytail smack the Uzumaki straight across the face. Of the people watching only Hinata and Benihime noticed the purple student's blushing ears. The former found herself glaring a little at the girl's courage of calling the Uzumaki hot even if it had been a slip. The later just tried to hold her laugh at the possibility of her mistress' charm affecting another girl. As for Naruko she just blinked until Shino tapped her on her shoulder to remain her of the training exercise.

With that reminder, the short blonde shook her head and walked up to the wall. Benihime for her part flew away from the blonde to let the girl do the challenge for herself. Naruko agreed on that as she wanted to see if she could do this by herself.

Iruka was about to tell her how to put on the harness, now by habit because no girl had done the climb without it when Naruko just started climbing. She started at a simple pace by grabbing one ledge and using it to push herself onto the other as one would expect. The other classmates stared at her in awe at how easily she was raising the wall. Truth be told she was starting to think this was rather easy considering the things she had to hike for some of her pranks.

Then she felt the structure start to shake.

On instinct she hardened her grin on the ledge she was on but to her bad luck it was at that moment the contraption decided to start retract the hand-holdings. Normally that would have meant she would have lost a step or the grip on one of the ledges. Instead, three ledges were gone in an instant, and gravity took her into its embrace. Students gasped and Iruka screamed for her as she suddenly slipped. Yet she refused to fall and grabbed the remaining ledge with all her might. She had to admit, feeling her arm almost get dislocated was not pleasant and the constant shaking was not helping.

'_I did not like that popping sound!_' she thought painfully while looking around for another ledge to grab. Thankfully the shaking had stopped and during the whole debacle, she had been turned to her side. Then she made the mistake everyone always does and looked down to see a 20ft drop greeting her. '_Dammit, if only I could... Wait a minute! That's it!_'

Having a small epiphany similar to when she learned **M-Pathy** she started gathering chakra in her legs. Then she forced her body to roll back to the wall and thought '_Stick_' as she placed her feet on the wall.

BOOOOM!

Just like that her feet exploded from the surface of the structure and flipped her 180 degrees. The next thing she felt was the cracking sound of her back and skull hitting the wall. She let out a dizzy "ouch" before feeling her body as it started falling. By sheer force of will, she flipped herself back to face the wall and tried to grab another ledge with both hands. Again she felt the nasty pull of gravity against her poor arms and slight popping sound but she held firm.

"Okay… Let's try that again with _less_ chakra," she told herself through gritted teeth. Therefore she chose to ignore some of the shouts of worry and the one smartass that held at her to do another flip before she placed one of her feet on the wall. This time it didn't make an explosion like before but it still didn't help much give that as now her feet kept slipping as if the surface was wet with rainwater. Her armed protest as they were being jerked down once more with each failed attempted.

"NARUKO-KUN!" she heard a voice to her left shout out and looked to find Hinata already beside her. Extending her hand to help and the made the Uzumaki smile. This was especially so when she noticed that the girl had climbed up the rope without the harness.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan but I'm okay for now." the Uzumaki replied while rejecting the hand. Then looked up to see she had fallen at least 8ft from where she originally was. That little stunt had cost her far more than she had wanted. "Hey, do you think it's possible to use chakra to stick to places?" she asked the Hyuga as she grabbed the nearest handhold to start climbing up again.

"D-d-do you mean t-t-the **Tree Walking Exercise**?" Hinata questioned back in surprise as she looked at the cute Uzumaki climbing again as if nothing had happened. But when her voice reached the whiskered girl said girl stopped advancing.

"It has a name, huh? That might make it easier." Naruko whispered as a smirk started to form on her lips. At this height, the handholds didn't disappear from under you so she closed her eyes and started visualizing. For the **Leaf Balance Exercise,** she had to concentrate on keeping something in place with chakra and for **M-Pathy** she had just changed her thinking to transferring the chakra she had used that line of thinking to try and stick to a surface. That had failed but now with that hint given but her soon to be new friend the preteen changed how to approach this problem now that she knew on what to concentrate the chakra.

At first, she started to visualize herself placing one foot in front of the other. Yet for some reason that felt wrong in a way, like it would not help her escape the pull of gravity. Thus, the gamer visualized herself moving faster and unyielding to a law of nature. At the same time, her body started accumulating chakra around itself. Hinata gasped as her Byakugan activated in reaction to the buildup of power she felt from Naruko. Thus, she bore witness to the huge sun flare before her that slowly start moving towards the girl's legs. The Hyuga also noticed that the chakra in the legs started as a maelstrom of chaos but slowly it became calmer and steadier with enough control to–

[**Tree Walking Exercise** unlocked!]

Naruko eyes spanned open with shining blue dust and in a burst of speed, she was off. The explosion of wind as the girl took off running nearly knocked Hinata of the rope but the girl managed to hold on. The gamer didn't notice this as she was to busy feeling the wind on her face and a solid surface under her feet. Even for the short distance, it was an incredible feeling being able to do something normal people thought was impossible. Still, every good thing has to come to an end eventually, and considering she was already a fast runner the last few feet were done in a matter of seconds. Thus, she reached the top and jumped even higher to release the excess chakra. Then did a small flip in the air and softly landed on the very top of the wall.

As everyone remained stunned over what she had done Naruko just laughed and whooped at her achievement.

* * *

[**Challenge: Free climbing (COMPLETED)**]

[Reward: Agility has permanently increased by 2pts.]

[Your raw agility is now 008.]

* * *

The first person to recover from the shock had been Iruka who congratulated her and asked her to get down. The Uzumaki, however, responded she would only do so when Hinata managed to reach the top. After that, she just sat on the ledge and cheered the girl on. Then for good sport, she threw a cheer for Shino and Ino as they tried to climb. Surprisingly Ino managed to reach the top faster than Shino but that was after Hinata had reached the top. After that, the friends climb back down to a bemused chunin instructor. It was easy to say that the Uzumaki was the only one in that group that managed to get the 150pts.

"I have to say Naruko-chan. There is never a dull moment with you around. But I have to ask. When did you learn the wall walking technique? Given how much trouble the **Leaf Balance Exercise** was for you I would have thought the more advanced version would have been more difficult." Iruka inquired with a tone that spoke of both pride and confusion at what he just saw.

"Just now really," Naruko announced with a grin while throwing an arm around Hinata. "And thanks to Hinata-chan, here! If it wasn't for this girl here, I would have probably failed." And that's all she wrote as far as Hinata was a concern as her blush became an incandescent red right before her world turns black. The whiskered girl then had to act quickly and catch the sudden death weight as the princess fainted. Only the hidden fairy and the chunin instructor knew why the bluenette fainted but did not see the merit in telling the oblivious blonde just yet. Hinata was soon woken up by Naruko discreetly pulling out a bag of smelling salts and using it on the Byakugan user to wake her up.

After that, the scarred teacher's team switched places with Mizuki's team. During the exchange of fields, the achievement of the trouble-making blonde was spread among the students. Thanks to the fangirls saying that the Uchiha could do it better said event reach his ears rather quickly. It was quick enough that he could still frown towards Naruko, who raised an eyebrow at him on confusion over that glare because she didn't know the reason behind it, as they pass by each other.

Nonetheless, Iruka's group reach the target range and the teacher explained the rules. The students had 10 chances (5 Kunais and 5 Shuriken) to hit the wooden targets. Each target was painted in the regular archery white, black, blue, red, and yellow bull's eye color point system. Naruko learned, by hearing the clamor of fangirls, that the last Uchiha had managed to get the highest score in their group by hitting one of the farthest targets. As much as she hated to have to admit it, she had to give credit where credit was due. After all, she had never been able to hit either of those so she had to admit the level of the boy's skill.

The range was set up as such:

None moving Targets = 3 targets 10ft apart from each other at 20ft from the throwing station and 2 targets behind those at 30ft

Moving Targets = 1 target moving from left to right at 40ft. 2 targets moving up and down on poles at 50ft.

Farthest Targets = 2 targets at 60ft with 2 wooden shields each spinning around them.

The scoring system was base on the normal archery ring system. Also, multipliers were based on distance after the original three targets. This meant that 30ft = x2, 40ft = x4, 50ft = x6 and 60ft = x8. It was allowed to hit the same target multiple times if you wanted as missing a shot meant no points for that throw. Sasuke's score ends up being 278pts as he managed to hit the target at 40ft twice on the 8pts line while also managing to hit the 6pts line on the farthest target.

* * *

**~ Challenge Declared ~**

**[Challenge: Knife's edge]**

[Description – A chance to show your proficiency with throwing weapons has come up. Show people what you have learned since starting your path to becoming a legend]

[Mission: Score higher than 200pts

Optional Challenge: Beat Sasuke's score of 278pts without hitting the same target twice]

[Reward: Perception permanently increases by 3pts

(Optional Completion) Reward: Perception permanently increases by 2pts]

* * *

Naruko blinked in surprise at that challenge coming up. For this event, all she had wanted was to hit all of her targets not wanting to one-up the Uchiha. Sure, she didn't like him but that didn't mean she wanted to actively antagonize him. Mostly because she felt a slight connection with the brooding duck butt over the fact that they were both orphans and the people loved to remained them of that.

From him, it was the fact he was his title as "The Last Uchiha" which people didn't seem to realize was a constant reminder to the boy of what he lost. It wouldn't surprise her if that was part of the reason he was always glaring and frowning in a corner. It seemed no one thought that maybe it was bad for one's mental health to being always reminded of the worst possible thing to had ever happened to you. At least that's what she thought when it came to the blue wearing boy because she was damn sure no one forgot about it when they kept telling her she was abandoned since not even a mother could love a monster.

Trying not to go down a depressing line of thought she shook her head and waited for her turn as students took part in the training exercise. This time the students were called in alphabetical order. Regretfully, thanks to lettings her mind wander she had missed Shino's turn. Out of respect for the boy, she didn't dare to ask for his score and instead gave a nod which he answered back in, hopefully since she could tell, appreciative nod. After that, she waited with him and Hinata for the girls' turn at the range. When the Hyuga's turn came Naruko made sure to cheer the bluenette who blush in appreciation and embarrassment.

Subsequently, Hinata walked to the front and took a calming breath before grabbing her knives. With practiced ease, she attacked the targets on after the other. The first three where perfect hits, second set one was perfect with the other she lost the perfect by a point, next three projectiles hit the first moving target on the eight-, six- and four-point lines and finally, the last two weapons hit the vertical moving targets in the five points lines. The final score for Hinata Hyuga 200pts.

"Well done Hinata-chan!" Naruko cheered at the girl who blushed crimson at the praise.

"T-T-Thank you." the lavender eyed girl whispered while poking her fingers. '_Why can she make my heart go crazy with just a smile?!_'

After that, the Uzumaki waited for her turn to come. During that time, she tried to use **Scan **on each student there but each time the results were the same as before since she only got the person's names. However, the repeated use was raising the skill's XP bar so she decided the grinding was worth the frustration. Then she heard the chime of the skill leveling up and the text box informing her that now she could scan up to three targets at the same time. Naruko had also noticed that during this time Benihime had grabbed a rectangular device with headphones and from time to time would sing a few lyrics.

"Ripped her heart out right before her eyes/Eyes over easy, eat it eat it eat it/" she heard the fairy sign at one point. Naruko thought such violent lyric should never be whispered in the fairy's soft and small voice. Then Iruka finally called her to take the stage. Breathing and exhaling to calm herself the whiskered girl walked to the range and first grabbed a Kunai.

"Careful! Better take cover or you're going to get hit!" one of her bullies yelled out from the back. She sighed in annoyance and fired back loudly.

"Wow, distracting the girl known for having a bad aim when she's about to start throwing sharp weapons! Either you hate living or you love the idea of bleeding to death!" at that call out everyone seems to shut up and let her concentrate. Thus, she looked at the targets before her and started to aim. Then just as she was about to launch the knife a yellow crosshair appeared around the first target she was aiming at.

As she blinked the crosshair started getting smaller and becoming a darker shape until it was bright red at the very center on the target. It only lasts for less than a second before the crosshair exploded back to the bigger yellow ring and started getting smaller again. On a hunch, she waited to again for the reticle to reach its smallest form and on instinct threw the Kunai.

_**Thunk **_

+10pts

Naruko's eyes widen and jaw dropped. Just now she had gotten a perfect shot, something that she had never done before. Taking a gulp she grabbed another Kunai and repeated the previews process. Sure, enough the knife and the next landed perfectly on the 10 of each target. Grinning at her score of 30, she grabbed the next weapon and once more aimed. Yet as she aimed at the target at 40ft she noticed the reticles were far more difficult to predict. Hence, she tried to concentrate better before throwing the projectiles but in both cases, she missing the 10pts circle by a fraction and hit the 9pts.

See that Naruko grabbed the first shuriken and tried to predict the trajectory of the moving target. Her eyes followed the bull's eye moving from left to right through the range. Then she threw the star where she thought the center would be but the blade struck and only hit for 7pts. Seeing that frustrated her and she took the next two stars and aimed for the 50ft vertical moving targets. Regretfully no matter how much she tried to control the crosshairs at that distance it was almost impossible for her to get a read on them. Doing a metaphorical leap of fate, she launched the stars but as once they landed the Uzumaki was dismayed to see they only hit the 3pts circles on their targets.

That meant right now she was at 130pts and only two more shots. She still needs 60 points more to complete the initial challenge and there were only two ways for her to reach that: 1) get two more perfect 10s on the 40ft targets or 2) pray to the Log she hit the 60ft which she had never been able to do before. The blonde was about to take the easy way out when she noticed a text box disappears. The whiskered girl didn't get to read most of it but managed to catch that **Knife Throwing** had leveled up thanks to her doing those difficult throws.

As a test the blue-eyed girl watches the crosshair over the bull's eye for the 40 and 50ft targets become more stable. Hence the 60ft distance one became just a bit more tranquil but not enough to make a perfect hit without a problem…

'_I could hit but I never had the strength to reach it. Wait a second! Tsunade-sama can make herself stronger by using chakra on her limbs. Maybe if I just…_' Naruko thought and proceeded to channel her chakra to her hands. Unbeknownst to her, the chakra was not staying in her hands since it was being fueled into the shuriken which started glowing with barely restrained power. Iruka noticed this and was about to tell the Uzumaki to be careful when the girl unleashed her projectiles.

As the energy covered stars sailed through the air they exploded in a white smoke before twin screeches were heard. Then from the explosion two fully formed translucent blue eagles flew in a deathly dance of wings and claws that went straight for the farthest targets. For a moment it looked as if the spinning shield would stop the majestic creatures. But with twin battle cries they crashed onto the shield and splintering the wooden shield into nothing. Once the dust settled all that remained where the stars have embedded almost completely into the 9pts circle on both targets.

* * *

**[Challenge: Knife's edge (Completed)]**

[Naruko Uzumaki's final score is 274pts]

[Reward: Perception has permanently increased by 3pts]

[Optional: Beat Sasuke's score of 278pts (FAILED)]

[Player's raw Perception is now 009]

* * *

Everyone once more stayed silent at another accomplishment by the supposed Dead Last of the class. Yet here not once but twice the Dead Last had managed to leave them speechless with sudden a displays of prowess they though only The Last Uchiha possessed. Heck, some of the boys and even a few fangirls were starting to think that maybe the Uzumaki was final gunning for the top. Yet during all of this Naruko could only stare with wide eyes and a slacked jaw.

'_What is the name of the Log was that?!_' she screamed internally while trying to understand what just happened. Her mind was going a mile a minute trying to understand what had happened just now. That had felt similar to when she had created the **Whirlwind of Doom** yet was almost as if she knew how to do that attack from the moment she started channeling her chakra. '_Wait… As if I knew it? No, it couldn't be… Could it?_'

With that line of thinking and seeing everyone was still distracted she quickly summoned her skills tab and looked. Sure enough, **Knife Throwing** was now at level 2 like she had noticed before but with that came a new attack called **Piercing Eagle**. This attack cost 50MP to used and coated the projectile in a layer of chakra that augmented the attack with the ability to pass through an enemy's defense. The eagle transformation was just for show and maybe add an intimidation factor to the attack.

'_I can't believe this! I mean sure, I failed to beat Sasuke but just trying made me so much better!_' she thought to herself while inwardly doing a little victory dance. She had always considered that hard work would get her somewhere and now with her new bloodline limit it seems to prove her right at least a little bit. '_Still, I can't let this make me feel like I can take on the world._' she thought while touching her neck. '_Yesterday, thought me that very clearly._'

"What was that Naruko-chan?" Iruka's voice questioned her. The girl jumped slightly at the sound and quickly closed the window. Then she turned around with a nervous laugh while scratching the back of her head.

"Would you believe me if I say I mess up the strength enchantment technique Tsunade-sama is known for?" the whiskered youth commented which earns her a deadpan stare from the teacher.

"I've seen what happens when you mess up a jutsu and that was not it. That looked more like a completed jutsu than a mistake." the scarred dolphin said flatly. Then he added with a smile "Seriously if you were practicing a new jutsu there was no reason to hide it so badly. I thought by now you knew how to come up with a better lie."

"So, you're not mad at me for breaking the rules?" the blue-eyed girl questioned with an ecstatic grin. Poor girl never even saw the clipboard until it had already crashed on the top of her skull. Helmet or hardheaded that freaking _hurt_!

"It's not against the rules to use jutsu to enhance your throwing ability but next time you do make sure to inform me or Mizuki-sensei. You have a history of messing up and the last thing I want is for you to hurt yourself or a classmate with a stunt like that. Are we clear student Uzumaki?" Iruka lectured in a perfect imitation of a mother punishing their child for breaking something.

"Yes, Iruka-sensei." the whispered apology of a reprimanded child was heard. At the same time, she was tenderly cradling the new throbbing bump on her noggin.

"Good. Okay, after I replace the broken shields it's your turn Ino Yamanaka!"

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X

**Author's Note:**

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. For this chapter, I tried to introduce my versions of Hinata and Ino for this story. I'm trying to upload a chapter a week but if I see its too much I may slow down to one every two weeks. Maybe then I'll write more chapters not have long stretches between upload. Also for those that are wondering, when I said that "Naruko would not be God-like" I meant the following:

1) Naruko wouldn't be able to beat Kakashi nor any other Jonin or higher level opponent after getting out of the academy.

2) Naruko will work hard to get her abilities even if at the first level it looks like she is getting a lot.

3) Naruko will not be cocky or think she can always win.

4) From time to Naruko may act like she's superior its to fool her opponent since her early brush with death showed her how easy it is to lose it all.

* * *

**Update: 80/17/2019**

Grammar

**Update: 04/22/2020**

Grammar


	5. Enemies can taunt to

**Chapter 5: Enemies can taunt to**

After Ino's turn had finish Iruka looked for Mizuki's team and found that both teams had finished their training. This resulted in the instructors calling for the students to rest for the coming sparring matches. It was during this that Naruko caught wind of that Sasuke had almost failed the climbing exercise during his turn. She had asked Benihime to check that rumor by eavesdropping on the fangirls talking about it. When the fairy came back she explains that the Uchiha had also tried climb without gear after hearing what the Dead Last had managed to do.

Regretfully for Sasuke after one too many shakes he had lost his hold. At that point, the raven head had tried to pull off the same save Naruko had tired by wall walking as well. It seemed to seem the boy failed as he slipped rather quickly but he had thought fast and managed to grab one of the ropes to continue the exercise. That meant that by the end of the day only two people had managed to climb without gear. The blonde had blinked at the information and asked who had been the second one since the Uzumaki had thought she had been the only one.

Turns out the other person to have pulled it off was the only pink-haired girl in the class, one Sakura Haruno. The girl had figured out how to do the **Tree Climbing Exercise** from hearing what happened with Naruko and seeing Sasuke's slip when he tried to save himself. Hearing that made the whiskered girl consider giving the pinkette a few points in respect for pulling that one-off. Those were almost immediately killed when she heard from the fairy that the Haruno planned to use that knowledge to hustle a date out of the Uchiha.

'_Then again… Using blackmail is part of our job description so maybe I should be proud of her?_' the blue-eyed girl thought as she started wondering if maybe the emerald eye female did have it in her to be a ninja. '_Still, Sasuke will probably be brooding more than usual at the idea that I managed to beat him. Then he will probably hear about my stunt in the throwing ring. He is _not_ going to like me for a while._' she thought with a soft chuckle to mask the dread. Naruko didn't know much about Sasuke but she did know he could be a real pain in the butt when he lost or nearly lost.

"W-W-What's funny N-N-Naruko-kun? I m-m-mean… N-N-Naruko-chan. S-S-Sorry." Hinata inquired when she noticed the smaller girl laughing at nothing. The bluenette also blushed at that small lip of the tongue. She had no idea why she called the Uzumaki by a male honorific but it somehow felt natural if slightly embarrassing for being that first one to say it. The Uzumaki seemed to get a comfortable smile form that.

"Don't be. I like it when you call me kun. Somehow it feels normal." the Uzumaki confessed and once more cause the heiress to blush. "As for what was funny? Well, I guess it would be the fact that accidentally showing off might have put me in Sasuke's hate list. Had I known it was that easy I would have done it years ago. Probably would have put that rumor of me pinning for him done before it got any traction."

"NARUKO UZUMAKI!" a very angry female voice rang out. Everyone turned to see a furious Yamanaka heiress elegantly stomping towards the whiskered girl. How the light green-eyed mind walker managed to make stomping look almost like a majestic runway walk the gamer would forever question.

"I'm right here Yamanaka-san." the blue-eyed blonde replied calmly. "Mind telling me why you're yelling. Pun not intended." as she finished saying that the angry heiress stood before her with hands-on-hips and a glare that could melt steel.

"Because of you now Forehead has a chance at getting a date with Sasuke-kun!" Ino accused with as much force as she could. That fact that Gamer Mind's calming ability kicked in immediately spoke of the power behind those green eyes.

"How is that my fault?" the whiskered girl inquired. In response, she earned a finger poking her chest.

"Because you're the one doing crazy things like climbing up walls that somehow Billboard Brow could imitate it and get Sasuke's attention by offering to teach it to him."

"If we're going by that logic the one you should blame is Hinata-chan. She's the one that told me about it."

"Oh no! Don't you dare blame sweet little Hinata-chan for this!" the purple kunoichi revoked the deflection. Then she pulled back and crossed her arms. "I don't know what your deal is today Pumpkin but know that I'm watching you. If anyone is getting Sasuke-kun it's going to be me! So, don't go think you can sneak in and steal him with some fancy moves."

"How do people still think I like him? The last time I talked to the guy I was trying to punch his face in during a spar!" Naruko told with annoyance at that rumor's refusal to die. At the response from her fellow blonde, Ino could only tsk and rolled her eyes.

"Because you're a girl and the only possible way I can think of where you don't want to be the next Lady Uchiha is if you were a lesbian." the Yamanaka heiress announces without noticing the slight twitch from the Uzumaki. However, one Hinata Hyuga did notice and out of worry tried to ask what the purple kunoichi in training meant.

"W-W-What's a l-l-lesbian?" the bluenette tried to question with what she hoped was a serious look. In turn, Ino blinked at the question before smiling and patting the girl's shoulder.

"It's something you don't need to know about sweetie. Just never think of it as an insult and you'll be good."

"That seems like a surprisingly kind way to avoid the question for you Yamanaka-san." a third voice commented beside the Yamanaka. Said girl screamed in alarm at the sudden voice before turning to glare at the boy.

"Don't sneak up on me like that Aburame-san!" the mind walker demanded at the boy that had been there all along. Then she added with a glare "And why is that surprising? I might like gossip and playing mind games with people I don't like but there are lines I would never cross. Making fun of someone's preference or their inclination is just wrong. I've seen what that could do to a person." she informed though the last part was whispers low enough they almost didn't hear it. The three also noticed how she looked away at the end as if remembering a painful memory.

"Ino-san, a-a-are you o-o-okay?" the Byakugan user asked in concern at the fiery blonde's sudden change of mood.

"Yeah, don't worry Hinata-chan." the young mind walker quickly responded while trying to mask her pain. Then she shook her head and glared once more at the Uzumaki. But there was far less energy behind it. "As for you missy. I'm watching you and if you find something I can use to get to Sasuke I will use it."

"Careful Violet-chan. If you keep watching me that closely I could start thinking you might have something for me." Naruko taunted to see if she could bring some vigor back into the gossip queen. That taunt earned her a _thunking_ sound besides her head that turned out to be a kunai that the Yamanaka had thrown at her and had stabbed itself in the tree behind her. "Hey! Watch it!" she warned but that distraction was enough for Ino to turn around and walk away without a word. Only Shino and Benihime noticed the purple kunoichi's red ears.

"A-A-Are you okay?" Hinata asked while trying to check the Uzumaki for injuries. Yet she refused to touch the girl for fear of fainting again.

"Yeah, don't worry too much. Ino-chan missed on purpose anyway… At least I hope so." the whiskered girl answered while scanning at the knife the girl threw. '_Wow, the text-box indicates it's a common steel kunai but the thing is level 25. I wonder where Ino-chan bought it?_'

"Uzumaki-san." the sound of Shino's voice distracted the girls who turned to seem him. "Am I really that hard to miss?" he asked and they could hear the tone was slightly depressed.

"Shino-kun, I'll be serious with you out of respect and tell you that yes you are," Naruko announced while patting his shoulder. Then she smirked and added "Somehow you can almost perfectly blend in with the background. Kind of makes me happy you're on our side. It would be hell fighting an enemy with a power like that."

"I see…Thank you, Uzumaki-san."

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me…" the gamer started while she started walking away from the two preteens. "I'll go buy a soda from the vending machine before we start the matches."

As they watch the girl leave the Aburame heir asked "Have you notice something different about Uzumaki-san today?" to the surprise of the Hyuga.

"What d-d-do you mean, Aburame-kun?" the girl questioned. She had noticed a lot about the girl today but she wanted to see what her classmate had managed to notice.

"My queen seems far more intrigued with Uzumaki-san then normal. Normally she and all my other bugs try to avoid her because "her chakra is sweet and deathly" but today she told me Uzumaki-san is different. The moment I was close to her my queen and my colony became very agitated. Then when I asked, she started yelling "Why is death teasing us with such impossible sweetness?" again and again. It took an incredible amount of will to calm them down." the boy informed while looking at the retreating back of the Uzumaki.

Hinata didn't know much about the Aburame clan and their bugs but she did know that like the Inuzuka and her know clan they made incredible trackers. She almost knew the Aburame's insects were feed chakra so for them to react in such a way to Naruko's chakra something must have indeed happened. Probably something that had to do with those square mist of chakra she was seeing around the girl. Thus, she quickly went through the proper hand signs and activated her Byakugan to looked at the girl she admired. As soon as her eyes landed on the girl she gasped.

"What do you see Hyuga-san?"

"Armor…?" the lavender eyed girl commented in confusion.

"Beg your pardon?" the shade wearing boy inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Armor… It… It's like s-s-she's is wearing armor m-m-made of chakra. But… but it looks l-l-like leather?" Hinata tried to explain what she was seeing. To her eyes, it looked like Naruko was indeed wearing a full set of leather armor. But it looked superimposed on the girl's frame but like a waving translucent flame just as a chakra looks like. Then she had to blink as she noticed a light with square wings floating alongside the Uzumaki. "And there's a b-b-ball of chakra with w-w-wings flying besides h-h-her?"

"Interesting." the Aburame started "Armor made of chakra? Maybe she created a new jutsu? But that doesn't explain why she's using it now. Perhaps it's like the tree and water walking techniques were the more you use them they become second nature while also increasing your chakra reserves?"

"W-W-What about the ball of chakra w-w-with wings?"

"That's probably a fairy attracted by Uzumaki-san's expelled chakra from her jutsu. They're pretty common around training grounds or people that exude large amounts of chakra into the air. Last I check they establish a small village close to where my clan breeds our bugs for new and existing clan members." he informed to wonder of the Hyuga. After that, he walked away saying he needs to talk a few things with the queen of his hive.

Seeing that she was now alone Hinata decided to discreetly follow the Uzumaki because she had worried about the girl. Yes, she was following because of concern for the girl and therefore it was not considered stalking. Just like she always followed the blonde whenever she could since the girl saved her from those bullies years ago during that winter. Hence, she wanted to keep tabs on the girl and maybe repay her. Just like when she secretly gifted the whiskered girl those green goggles and froggy wallet for the girl's lonely birthdays.

"I wonder what I could give her this year?" Hinata wondered before deciding to chase after the blonde would give her an idea. See! This wasn't stalking! This was just making sure she could give her savior the best possible gift. Plus, all of that watching was good practice for her stealth and the chasing had done wonders for her stamina. Though she stilled wonder why it was still difficult for the ANBU to chase after the blonde saw the girl had never once reached her true maximum speed since the coffee incident. "That day had been a real challenge," she told herself while smiling at how much of a challenge it had been to follow the Uzumaki that day.

As for the girl, who had been the center of these talks, she was currently talking with her companion. That had also been the real reason Naruko had taken to leave since the whiskered girl wasn't sure she had the skills to keep two conversations going. Not to mention, it would look extremely weird when she suddenly became quiet or whisper singed at irregular intervals or any interval for that manner. Some people already thought she was crazy and she didn't want to give them more ammunition.

"Okay, Beni-chan. Can you tell me what's going to be the plan for the next training session?"

"What do you mean what's the plan?" the fairy asked back in confusion. "You just have to fight and you try to win."

"And just how do I do that? If you haven't noticed _everyone_ in my classroom is at least 10 levels over me. I can't even get a proper reading from the Sasuke Fan Club and I know they were weaker than me before I got this power."

"How do you know they were weaker? Did you fight any of them before?"

"Only Ino and Ami. Managed to beat them rather easily though Ino put up a far better fight. But after I fought Ami and broke her nose with a punch that she couldn't dodge in time Mizuki-sensei said I was better off fight the boys. Even managed to win in a fight or two against them too." Naruko commented and then frowned. "Which is why it's kind of infuriating knowing they're now stronger than me."

"Well, you can still win with a little extra work," Benihime answered with a smirk. "Ever heard of a low-level run?"

"No." the whiskered kunoichi replied as they reached the vending machine. As she bought herself a can of HETAP she asked "Is that like trying to beat a game with the lowest level possible? Is that even possible?"

"Yes, it is. Stats aren't an absolute value that can't be beaten. In my world there exist people who actively try to beat games in wild an unusual way like using strange controls or not doing certain things. Some of those things are trying to complete a game with the lowest level possible and some games encourage that by giving you items that make it impossible for you to gain experience points. However, for challenges like these a player needs a few things: determination, patience, skill, a lot of luck, and more than likely save point abuse."

"Well you said I don't have save-points so I'll need the others." the Uzumaki announced while she brought up her status screen. Then as she drank her soda can Naruko noticed she had some unused attribute point from last level up. She was about to assign them when a light bulb turned on in her head. "Hey… my Gamer's powers let me fully control the growth of my attributes, right?"

"Yes," Benihime confirmed with a grin.

"So that means normal people can't do that and so that means their stats are only based on what they trained."

"Yes." the fairy with her grin increasing.

"Therefore, I can manipulate some of my stats to make up for some of the skills I don't have."

"Which means?" the Navi asked while she vibrates with excitement.

"Which means I can make it harder for them to beat me by increasing stats like my speed to easily evade their attacks and durability to remain standing if their attack hits!"

"BINGO!" Benihime celebrated while the system gave the Uzumaki a point to the girl's Intelligence for the deduction. With that discussion done the gamer proceeded to use those points and assigned 5 to her AGI, 4 to her VIT, and the last one on her PER. Thus, her increased stats turned into the following:

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv3] ~Trickster Queen~

XP: 84/264

HP: 101/101

AGI: 013

VIT: 009

PER: 009

"Normally I would try to get more even stats but I think for now having more HP and speed are better for now. I just hope this will be enough."

"Don't worry too much about winning. This is just a practice spar so even if you win you won't get XP from beating your opponent. After all, the system only gives you XP after a battle when you kill your opponent. Things like practice spars, draws, enemies, fleeing, giving up or you reaching an understanding with them do not count."

"That sounds pretty violent. Then again I know this a pretty violent world."

After that, the girl drank what was left of her soda, crushed the can with her foot, threw it away, and walked towards the fighting rings. Not once did either of the females noticed a blue-haired Hyuga using her Byakugan to watch them from behind a bush beside a tree. Said girl hadn't managed to hear what the Uzumaki was saying or even read her lips because of those thick mists of chakra that appear around the girl's lips when she talked. She also couldn't tell what the fairy was saying because she could not hear a voice from it even though she knew Naruko could hear the creature and was having a conversation with it.

Then she noticed the whiskered girl summon another of those square chakra mists. This time, however, the active Byakugan let Hinata see that the mist was a translucent blue screen with letters and numbers that she could read. Seeing an opportunity to see what the Uzumaki was doing he Hyuga heiress moved slightly to see pass the whiskered girl's shoulder. After which she saw the screen contained the blonde's name, her title of _Trickster Queen_, and other numbers alongside words she could not understand.

Then she noticed the Uzumaki adding numbers to the words AGI, VIT, and PER. After that, the Hyuga's eyes widen at the changes she saw happen to her heroine's body. She didn't know how but somehow the blonde's leg muscles became linear and toner. Hinata almost gasped upon seeing the fluctuations in the girl's chakra as it moved through those legs as they changed. In mere seconds the bluenette had just witnessed the same level of change one would expect to see with a month or so of constant running training. Yet the surprise didn't stop there as the whiskered girl's chakra moved even more. This time energy seemed to encompass the girl's body in a shell for a second or two. Then when the shell disappeared Hinata could not understand it but Naruko seemed to look healthier. It wasn't that the Uzumaki looked bad before, far from it, but the only way the Byakugan user's brain could register what it saw was that the body it was seeing had become better.

"W-W-What was that? How can N-N-Naruko-kun just change her body l-l-like that?" Hinata asked herself as she saw her idol just become stronger before her with what looked like a press of a button. "Just how incredible are you, Naruko-kun?"

The heiress just didn't know how to explain what she saw just now. Never before had she seen anyone control their body so perfectly. So many new questions had sprung up in her mind. Yet right now she couldn't do answer those questions without having the courage to ask the girl first. Hence, she decided to follow the blonde towards the sparing grounds and wait for Umino-sensei's new instructions for the next training session. A few minutes later the groups were separated into boys and girls. The males plus Naruko were with Iruka and the females went with Mizuki.

"Silence!" Iruka yelled and those talking shut up. "For the next training exercise, we'll be having sparring matches between, you, the students. However, unlike the single matches, you're used to these battles will simulate having to fight multiple opponents. This will be done by having you fight at least two consecutive fights without rest.

After those two fights, you can choose to fight again if you wish. Only the winner gets to fight multiple times so if you lose, you'll be disqualified. The first victory will only count if you beat two opponents consecutively and it will earn you 100pts. Each victory after that will earn you 50pts more than the previous one. Victories will be decided on standard tournament rules. That means ring out, count to ten, forcing your enemy to tap-out or when we instructors say the battle is finished. Any questions?"

"Can you fight multiple opponents at once?" Kiba was hear asking/screaming.

"Yes. But next time, please raise your hand Kiba-san." Iruka answered and added "If you do face multiple opponents each one will give you an extra 10pts to your victory. However, if you do face multiple opponents know that they will not be restricted by the ring, unlike you. That means you can get a ring out but they can stay up to 20 seconds out of it after stepping out of it. This may seem unfair but many of the fights you will face during your life as a shinobi rarely are. Now let's begin that matches."

With that, he pulled out a sealing scroll which they quickly learned contained a long wooden table with two Tv like devices. Then both instructors pressed the button at the top of the device. Once this was done the students saw their names quickly rotating on the devices to announce who they would be fighting. Naruko only paid attention to the selection screen with the boy's name. She had to roll her eyes when she noticed it first stopped on her name and seconds later her challenger was chosen.

"Okay, first match Naruko Uzumaki vs Goto Yamura! Please come to the right."

* * *

**~ Challenge Declared ~**

**[Challenge: Low-level run]**

[Description – Right now you are about to take on a fight you would normally have no hope of winning. Yet where others would look at the unknown and retreat to fight another day you see a potential chance to test yourself. No pain no gain as they say.]

[Mission: Defeat at least two enemies whose power you cannot see.]

[Reward: The necklace of ZERO |Epic|]

* * *

Naruko had to click her tongue as the name of her foe was called. It was the same kid that had bullied that pretty girl all those years back. Normally she wasn't one to hold grudges, on the count that she tended to get even with her pranks, but this guy got her blood boiling. Goto had gotten taller over the years but he still wore a green shirt and red cap turned backward. The reason she was still mad at him, besides him having sucker-punched another time, is because he remained a bully even after all of these years. Again, and again she had to step in and stop him from tormenting another victim. But each time she receives another beating at the hands of him and his posy.

Thankfully at least during one of those times, the Uzumaki had managed to nail him hard enough on the mouth that he now had a permanent missing front tooth in the middle of his mouth. That hadn't stopped the thrashing the whiskered girl got but she counted her small victories anyway. Naruko just hopped this time she could give him another one if only barely. Benihime for her part cheered her mistress but said she would be stepping away from this as it was just a practice fight. Then as Naruko moved through the students an alert popped up.

* * *

[**ALERT!]**

[_**Practice Mode**_ has been activated]

[Description - During practice mode, all living targets and the player become immortal to protect them against fatal blows. The player will still see the targets' HP bar but once it hit 0 the target will be knocked out instead of causing death. The knock out rule will also be applied to the player with an additional reduction to all stats by 5pts. Fatal and Near-Fatal Strikes like limb loss, pierce heart, or beheading had been disabled. Other status debuffs like broken limbs, negative afflictions, or stat debuffs, however, are still in play.]

* * *

"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. Haven't given up yet you loser?" Goto taunted once both students were inside the ring.

"If a disgrace of a human-like you can be here, I don't see why me being here is a problem." Naruko fired back while taking a battle stance. It was regretful that the fighting instructors never bother to teach her the standard academy fighting style in favor of letting the Uzumaki fend for herself. Thankfully her Gamer Soul bloodline limit did let her create attacks and abilities through practice. Hence the gamer decided to copy Son Goku's battle stance in hopes of recreating this fighting style. He had become one of her top heroes after she got lucky and found a complete collection of all 291 episodes of the DBZ anime on VHS and a VHS player in one of the abandoned apartments in the building she owned.

'_Actually… If I can recreate the Goku-san's fighting would that mean I can finally do the Kamehameha? Okay, new plan! After I finish school, I'm going to a training ground and practice until I get it!_' she thought with an excited grin as her inner otaku started taking control of her thoughts.

"Enough you two," Umino-sensei exclaimed to the two students before they started bickering. "Are you ready?" he asked but noticed only Naruko had taken a battle stance. He gave the cap-wearing boy an additional five seconds for him to get ready but he didn't. Iruka shook his head in disprovable and started the match "Begin!"

Once the fight started Naruko, to the surprise of everyone, waited for her opponent to make a move. The boy for his part laughed as if he didn't see any danger and he even did the "come here" motion. The Uzumaki sighed at that and ready herself for dodging the possible counter. Thus, she burst into a run with her right fist cocked back and once she was close the jab went straight at his stomach. The punch landed and the boy flinched in pain but it wasn't enough to stop him from countering with a punch to Naruko's head. Expecting this the girl ducked the attack and followed up with a jumping uppercut that landed the boy on the jaw. The attack stunned the bully and height let the Uzumaki coil her legs before shooting them in a double kick to his chest. As she fell on her back the boy was flung back but stopped just a step before the edge of the ring.

Goto held his chest in pain and growled in rage at the girl who jumped back to her feet. Once Naruko got to her feet she smirked and flipped him off while also throwing a "come here" motion with her finger. That was enough to make the cap wearer lose his reason as the bully ran at her intending to bulldoze the girl. The Uzumaki used the distance to her advantage and quickly sidestepped him while also throwing a left hook to his jaw. However, it seemed she was the one that fell for the trap as the boy stopped just in time to catch her fist. Then without miss a beat he took advantage of their height difference and threw a kick at her head.

Thinking quickly the whiskered girl bend back as much as possible to avoid the kick. At the same time, she pulled the hand grabbing her arm and also kicked the boy's remaining foot away with one of her own. The bully ended up doing a perfect split much to his and the other boy's pain. Naruko noticed that he let go of her arm and she grabbed his head to slammed it onto her rising knee. This resulted in the satisfying cracked of the boy's nose after the impact that shots his head back. Then she let go and jumped back to get some distance as the boy fell onto his back and grabbed his pain in pain. Normally she would have finished it right there and then but seeing him withering on the ground stirred a sadistic glee inside of her.

"That hurt you bitch!" Goto screamed while holding his face.

"We're in a fight idiot. My attacks are supposed to hurt." the whiskered girl replied while once more taking a battle stance. "Now get up! Or are you too much of a weakling that you can't take what you dish out?" she added and the boy growled at her again. But she noticed he started grinning for some reason as he got up.

"No wonder your mother abandoned you in a trash can."

"What?" the momentary lapse in concentration earned her a punch to the face and quick knee to the stomach. Next, he rose his arms and struck her head with a double ax-handle that slammed her face-first onto the ground. After that Goto kicked the Uzumaki's head up with enough to rise the girl before he threw a right hook to her jaw that sends her flying. The blonde landed roughly on the ground and she scrapped the ground but stopped with the blonde's head just before the ring's boundary. Naruko coughed in pain and managed to look at her HP. Thanks to the defense provided by the leather armor she was still at 68HP but that didn't mean those attacks didn't hurt. Not to mention she could taste her blood as she started getting up. Already she could feel her anger building up as she glared at Goto who laughed as she got up and whipped the blood off her lips.

"What? Surprised? Everyone knows your whore of a mother threw you away before she died in a gutter like that pathetic bitch she was." the bully taunted and noticing how the girl started to shake.

"Goto Yamura! That is enough!" Iruka yelled in anger at the boy's show of disrespect. In turn, the boy glared at the sensei in defiance. The other students were looking at him in disgust or showing worry at how the Uzumaki seemed to be shacking even more. Some even noticed how the wind seems to pick up around her which made her jacket move around erratically. Then some of them swore the girl's blonde hair was moving like 9 angry thrashing tails.

"Why should I?! We're all thinking it!" Goto announced without noticing the girl in question closing her eyes. "My father told me her mother was one of the cheapest prostitutes in the village! Hell, that's probably why the little monster doesn't have a father either!"

It was at that moment that the students noticed that Naruko stopped shaking or to be more precise moving. Even her breathing seemed to have stopped but to the adults and budding sensor types noticed the real changes. Normally to these people, humans and animals looked or felt like small embers dancing in the darkness. Yet Naruko always looked like a newly lit bonfire in a cold night but now it was as if someone had poured oil onto it. The intensity the girl's chakra was gain was starting to affect some as they started to feel an unknown pressure fall on them.

"That little brat is probably the daughter of a drunk that didn't pull out and probably beat her mother so he didn't have to pay!" the fool screamed without noticing the wisps of chakra that seem to crackle around the motionless Uzumaki. "It's sad really. That's probably the reason even her mother couldn't love her."

The following explosion of chakra threw him and most of the students off their feet. Only the chunin and hidden ANBU managed to remain standing. But everyone bore witness to the Uzumaki literally glowing with a slight coating of chakra with small hints of red around her silhouette. Yet in contrarily to how wild the wind around the female was the girl's body only spoke of utter calm and in control mind. Then Naruko opened her now purple slit eyes and they could see a barely restrained rage that seems to be just hanging by a single thin thread about to snap.

* * *

**~̴̮̲͉̾̈́̈́̏̐̊̓̐ ̷̧̛̰̠̆̚N̸̤̪̭̯̱̆̌̓̄͊e̷͍̼̘̘̝͌͜ͅẇ̶͔̦̓̇ ̷̜̗̦̘͚̗͗̑̀̀̋̈̕͠ͅQ̶͕̺̭̬̜̗̞̒̏̃̂̉̌̀̃͜ǔ̸̧̨͍̯͋́̌͆́e̶̡̛͖̬̯̖̼͕̣͑̉̽͑̑̓͘s̶̥͒́̔t̶̝̾ ̷̮̱͎͈̭̗̉̈́̽͠~̷̬̍̈́̋̂̄̐͐̂**

**̵͍̞͓͒[̴̢̛̦̟̩͙̫̝̞̾ͅÄ̸̡̮̥̜͖̩̰̌͊́͗͜͝ͅf̴̡̛̜̙̻͋͘f̵̛̛̘̥͚͛̃̽̍i̶̛̩̿͒̉̚n̵̡̜̰͔͉̝̰̽i̶̫̰̍̐͘t̴̛̞̤̤͔̬̊̍͊̀͒̊͋y̸̠͎̜̔̈́͊͋͒̚͝ ̵̡̛͕̯͇̘̝̒̀̀̑͜Q̶̨̲̬͕͚͚͠ù̸͎̰̫̩̺̋̽͐͑̽͊e̵̡̯̟̫̋̃̂̊̀̅s̸͙̒͠ţ̴͈͓̖̺́̀͝:̸̣̺̥̓͗͐ ̶̬̱̈́̅̀ͅǪ̸̛̦̝͈͍͌̐̆̊̓̂̃̇r̵̛̩̝̪͈̹̭̤̈́͒̆̈́͌ͅͅp̵̢̛͔͔̰̜̫̮̃̃͒̈́̄̕͠ḩ̴̩̤̺̤̙̈́̇̉̽̎͠ạ̵͎̞̖͍͍͇͕̐̅͜ṇ̴̢̺̜͔̬̭̝̒̈'̶̡̬͔̀͝ş̶̝̘͎̗̓̍̍̑̆̚̕ͅ ̶̧͓̰͕͖͙̋͐̌̆͒́̄R̵̠̹̩̩̠͉̐̈́̈́̊͠ͅa̶̪̭̼̪̾̈́̿ģ̵̦̜̥̖̖̲̉͌e̴̺͎͎͕̼̭̣̤̐̆̃̇̎̔̚̕ͅ]̴̞͙̳͚͇̦̅͆̍̉͑̿͝**

**̵̨͇͖̋̄͊̋̿[̵̲̺͎͕̱̦͎̈͊̊́͛̅ͅD̴̻̆̌̚ȩ̶̖̻̜̥̪̰͇̍͊̿̍͜s̸͕͔̯͇̳̈́͒̾̚c̶̘͙̱͋r̵̞̘̳͙̗̃̑̔̈́̍͑͊͜ï̴̮̝̘̹̐̑p̸̜̹̦̪̼̑͂̑̆̿͊̅̓̌t̵̯̠̩͕͋̐̊̔͝i̴͙̝͌̌̽̏̉͋̿̂̚o̴̗̝̖͚̠͉̽͂̊̏̃̌̀̕n̴̙̳̜̯̙͇͍̼͐͋͊͑̅͋͐͝ ̶̣̾́͌̃̓͝–̸̨̯̯̗̓͌̐́̕ ̷͉͔̱̳̏Ţ̵̹̜̣́̄̓̀ḫ̶̛̪̮̣̪͈̙͗̃̆̈̈́ḁ̶̊̾̈́t̶̢̛͚̹͇͔̰͐̋̔̾̓ ̶̢͙̰̺̹̱̰̀̎̀̃͑͛̈͒f̶̨̺̱̀̌͛̽́̽͒́ö̴̡̟̘̣̤̤̬̅̚o̴͇̯͂̉͝ͅḷ̵̞̘͍̥̹͎̝̀̆̏́̓̐̅̏ͅ ̴͚̺̊͑͌̂̓̿͂͒̚h̵̢͚͋̃̓͋̋̊́̈́a̶̦̐̎͆̐̂̄̎͘ş̷͓͕̬̬̤́͘ͅ ̵̙̩̫͉̹̓i̵͙͚͈̙͇̳͉̓̀̓̕n̵̢͇͇̲̉̌̌̇̇́̿͜š̸̡͖͌́́͌ú̶̢̫̣̠̻͈̒̈́̔̾̕̕͜͝l̷̹͐̀͐͛̑̈́͘t̵̛̝̮͉͚͕̑̋̀̾̏͗̕ẽ̷̡͕̥̼̭̮̟̻̊̉͌̚͝͝d̶͓̭͈̻͆̈̍͊̕ ̴̦̄ţ̷̛̰̜͍̠̘̮͈̼̐̃ḧ̴͕̣̱̦̲́̌́̌͆͗̕͘͝e̶̻̪͓̹̓͛͋̓͑ ̸̫͇̺̺̒̽̓̒́́̿̕͝w̵͍̝̱͈̫̏́̓̈́͜o̸̢͋̓́̓̕ͅm̴̧͖̗̳͙̣̔͌̂̀̊̊̕á̴̱͕n̶̺͇̞͂͐͜ ̵̠̎͂͐ẘ̸̼h̵̛͙͓̟̱̫͚͉͍͐̎͗͂͂͛͜ǫ̸͖͙̤̬̫͉̱́͜ ̴̝͖̘̺̗̚̕̚b̸͚͛͋͒̐́͘i̷̮̮̘͖̅͊̔̄̀̾͘͘r̷̢̺̭̠͕̒̈́̀̊͗͘t̷̪͇̂̽̈́̀̍̉͘͝h̸͇̎̒̐͐ ̷̨͖̼͙̜́͜ÿ̷̦̀̈́ò̷̡͖̣̰͉͔̱̽̂̈́̎u̶̳͕̭͔̹̲̥͇̼͂ ̵̜̦̖̲͉̱͍̦̊̋͑̒͑͜ą̶̣̅̃̈́̈́̾͛̈́s̴̳̒͌͐ ̷̹̫̬̏̋̀ĩ̸͔̞͕̫̒̅̎͜f̶̼͗͆̿̓̏̄ ̸̢̢̜̠̗̈́͐̓̌̀́ḫ̶̙̼̦̅̐̏e̸̩͖͑ ̵̙̙̀͒̑̂̈̓k̷̬̫̠̹̘̜̭̺̳̓̏͗̆͌̚͘̚ņ̷̧͎̬̰̻̞̲͈̐͊̓̑̂̎̓̇ȩ̴̺̖̉w̴̨͎̅̇̍̈́̅̑͌̄̕ ̶̞̹̹̯̽̈́h̶͉́͌̍̀e̸̛̹̠̺̞͈̻̓͊͌̋̌̀̄ͅṟ̸̛̭͙̮͓̍́͗̂.̸̛̛͎̪̪̭̻̳̖̗̚ ̴̗̬̗̈̽̀̿͋̐͜͝D̴̢͚͚̥͍̘̼͛͜ͅě̴̯s̴̘͉̟̹̲͋̃̽͌t̸̡͕̿͂r̸̨͙͉̍ö̷̩̔́̈́̕ͅy̷̡͉̲̻̞͖̬̘̞͑͂̅͑̌̿͝ ̶̻̓ḩ̶̛̝̰̬͍̤͒́͗̿i̵̢̪̻̲̼͈̖̇͒̍͆̉͑͑͘̚ͅm̸͖̰̀́̔̂ͅ ̸͖͕̈̈́̚͠l̷̖͔͙͖̾̅͂̔̃̽̑͘͝ͅi̴̹̰͚̳͉͐k̸̜̠͙͙͌̆͝ě̷̢͓̱̫̗̺̐ͅ ̴̨̙̯̤̊̈́̌́̂̉̏͊͠t̷̗̞̅̎͂͊̆h̶̛͎̩̻̪̥̻̞̽̿̀̐͜è̴̢͔͚̠̤̐͆̈̓̄̅ͅ ̸̬̂̀̒̕͝v̶̢͓͖̪̜̉̀́̿̾́͊͘͜e̴̦̝͓͛͗̚r̶̨̮̟͖̗̎͠m̵̬̲̞͚̣͇̟̻̉̍̒i̴̦͈̖͇̹͆͗́̒͌͋͛͆ņ̷̜̩̦͈̥̄̏͜ ̸̬̋͗͂̑̇͊̕ͅh̸̬̟̻̯̰́̓̃̆̋̃͆͌e̷̘̹̗͗̓͐̑̕ͅ ̸̢͚̪̕̕į̴̹͍̦̽̈͘ŝ̷̝̍̍́̑̊̅͛͑.̸̭̳̪̎͗̈́̍̆̍ ̶̨̪̹̣̩͙̞̪̋̐͑͆̆͝D̷̲̱͗̀̓̊̅̾ò̴̧͖̪̜̣̓͛̒̇̈́͠͝n̸͇͚͓̥̬͎̏̓͗ͅ'̷̲͇̘̼̳͇͓͑͒͗̈́̓͝t̵̛͍̪̂͗͐͂̍̀̍ ̶̛͍̻̣̬́̚̚ļ̵͕͙̗̺͚͕̼̏̐̿̋̈́̔̍͝͠ę̶̛̱̠̰̼̯̪͔̄̿̈́̎͗ť̸͈̠ ̷̘͈̓͗̉͘̕a̵̮̜͂͛̽̑́͐̅̓͘ ̷͕̣̞̍̈́̈́̆̽̎̕͝ṕ̷̪̬̻̲̈͘i̸̡̖̬̼͎͌̈́̈́̓̔͊͊ė̴̠̙̭̭̟͔̮͍́͝c̸̢̯̰̲͚͖̃̋̽̌̿͗̕̚̚e̸̼͚͖̟̜̤̅̈ ̷̥͈̞̫̑̿̔̏̾͠͝o̷̧͖̤̝̥̞̟̹̎̏̚͜f̵̗͐̍͌̕͠ ̸̧̫͙͓͍̖̍̾̀ẖ̵͓̘͖͕̥̞̗̃́̌̂̅̏͝į̴̟̱̖̫̏̋͠m̴͎͇̠̫̌͂͒̏̄̐̓̔̕ ̵̜̞̩̳̲̃̓̍̉͗̍̈́͝s̵̛̮͈̣͙͍̏̈́͒̀u̶͎̿̎́̉̈́ȓ̵͇̞̱̞̬̳͆́ͅv̷̢̧͙͇̖̟̭͙̿̏̈́̑̉ͅi̶̲̯͒̈͐̔̌̅̽̂͘v̷͎̫̳̐̆ẽ̶͕̟̲̗͙͗́͑̂̎̂̕͠ͅ.̸̨͍̞͎̲͈̳̪͙̈͒̈̈́ ̶̨͓̱̙͉͇́̍̂̀́̆̾͛͝K̸̬͎̤̻̙͐̉́͆̓͛̒́ḯ̸̘̱͇̺̦̪̜̼̒̽̐͐͘l̶̝̮̜̈́͌̃̕ḻ̸̡̘̘̪͖̤͙̟̂̀̏̏̌.̶͚̉̀́̈́͘ ̶̹̣̥̲͎̭̯̫͖̒̅͂̂D̶̛̬̮̬̱e̷̼͈͆s̸̥̠̠͕̯͕̓t̸̗̮͕̦͂ͅȓ̸̢̡̨̗͕̘͂́̀̋͜͝ô̶͓̩͙̜̮͚̫̱̱̏͑̾̆̒͐y̴̢͓̗͚̪̝̳͍͙͆̾̈̀͊͛̈́̀͠.̸̢̫̯̱̥̞̪̣̖̃̾͐͐͒̋̌̌ ̸̛̪̗̱̺̭͛͊̐̈̋̉̀Á̸̢̛̞̭̎͌͝͝ͅn̸̙̻͙͓͚̼̘͓̉́̃̿̑͆̒͘̕͜ņ̴̗̯̤͓̝̎͑̈́͑̉̕͘͜͜͝͠í̴͎̤̗̠̝̬̭͍̩̈̉́̊́̍ḧ̴̥́̏͐̚i̴͎̱̯̖͈̟͋͆̌̊̋͝͝l̵̤̠̹̳͓̟̆̏̂͆͒͗͂̚̕a̴̱͈͕͝t̴̠̳͔̗̑̽̈́̂̕e̶̡̠̣̤̖̥̜͈͐̆͑̈́͗́̋ͅ.̷̡̡̠͚͓̮̱͈́̊͑͜ ̷̞̮̺̹̖͕͖̋̈́̌̊S̷̩̥͔̺̺̤̈́̒͊ͅḧ̸̭̲́́̊͆̾̃ö̸̡͉̦̞̪̝̖̗́͜w̷̰̎̉̇ ̸͙͙̹̣̪͈̟͕͒̎ḧ̸̪̱͚̩͎̬i̴̧̥͖̩̻͛̄̔̀́͛m̸̧̺͖͔͍͓̯̪̃̌͆̅͘ ̶̢̩̭̟̯̫̙́͛͛́̚͜w̶̦̬̉̈́̓̕h̵̨̤̱͚̣͎͉̹̆̔̃͠ͅa̷͓͋͊̌̓̾͘͝ṫ̷̝̩̒̊̈̄ ̷̲͔̙̩̯̥̄̂̏̀̈́͌̔͝͠ṯ̶̡̻̪̠͇̘̀͋͐̈͝r̶̲͓̻͍̆͐͒͐̚͝͝u̸͖̞͍̥̣̹͛͘͘̕e̷̩̓̀͝ ̸̡̲̬̖͙̈̓͑͋̀̿͗͝o̸͓̗͆͆͂͌̕b̸̹͕̒̋͛͌̋̂̽̔l̴̰̯̘̆̿̒̏̑̈́̔̓i̸̡̯̠̝͔̰̲̋͛̃̎v̸̨̛̜̀̈́̐̓̿̕i̶̼͙͒̆͌̓͐͛͝ȯ̸̡͈̮̲̋̾n̴͛̍́͑̈́͛̚͜ ̴͉͈̄͗̀i̶̞̬̥̙̣̻͓̦͌͜s̶̝̼̹̲̓̇͘!̷̢̮̝̻̼̺̓̌́́̕̕͠]̸̢̬̊͋͑̈͘**

**̶͓͍̞͚̈́̀̂[̵͉̺̙̭̙̊͑̊͋̈̕͘ͅŔ̶͖̖̰̤̖͛̈͆͛͠e̵̲̖̖͗̉̋͗̕̚w̷̢̙̭͍̤̹͈̓̍͘ǎ̸̛̰̖͖̼͖͍̻̟̆̊͒̀͆͝r̵̡̘͉̎̓͗̄̂̑ͅd̵̨̼̼̜̠̄͋͜͜:̷̛̻̘͋̓́ ̷̭͚̥̰̜̇̇̓̽͒͗̏S̴̨̱͎̯̞̝̽͐̽̌̌̑̐͌͝c̴̯͈͐̆̆̑͝y̶̨̩̪̫͍͚͓̝̞͌̑͋̓̕̕t̵̞̝̙̯̼̖̏͋̀h̶̳̐͊e̵̛̩̙͖͇̰̮̻͎̍̓͜ ̸̯͎̗͋̅͛o̸̩̻͉̍f̵̢̨̝̹̊̿ ̸̮͈͚̆͊Ṟ̶̩͑a̵̻̦̳̱͔̣̰̐͗̎̽̐̈͌͠͝ǧ̷̫̻͉̯̬͍͠ẻ̸̡̤̼͇͔̊͑͐̒̐͐͜ ̴̩͒̿̈́͌̃̆̚[̸͈̈́̏̇̏̾̉L̷̝̗̰͍͎͎͊͛̋̿v̷͎̏͌̿̈́͆̏́̾̚1̵̲͉̣̐̀̑̿̽͒̕]̶̨̭̜̦͔̖̙̾́͑̊̈́̾͜͠ ̸̩̞͔̭̬̩̬̀͐͛͂́̚͜͜|̶͎̬͊̎͌͝͝L̷͓͒̐̊͑͑̂͜͝ẽ̴̩͓̞͍͉͙̑̃̕ǵ̷̜ȅ̴͙͚̫͖̈́͐͋͌̚n̶̡͕͋ḑ̵̰͚̳̥͎͛̍̾̇͋̏͜͠a̶͖̣͉͋͘̚r̸̰͇̻̻̅͒y̴̧̿̀̍͒̄̽́|̶̛̣̱̼̪̔̆̿̋͊͘͝͝]̵̡̰̳̱̩͓̪̃̿̒̎͑̎̒̐̕ͅ**

* * *

Naruko looked at the blood-red screen with a broken language written in pitch-black. Somehow, she could just tell it was telling her to let loose. It wanted her to release all of the anger she had bottled up over all of the years of verbal and physical abuse she had received. She could feel the power just scrapping at the surface just asking, no begging her to open the lid. All she needed to do was to let go and a new unbeatable power would be hers.

Then she could show that world her true potential.

Starting with trembling child pathetic, insolent, and unworthy bag of flesh before her.

She took a breath…

Everyone tensed…

She exhaled through her nose.

"Yamura-san" Naruko talked with poise and respect. Yet everyone could feel a level of bloodlust they never thought the blonde could produce. "Right now, there is nothing more that I want to do than utterly **breaking you**. I don't want to kill you because that would be too easy. What I want is to see you **withering** in so much **pain** you beg for your **death**. I want to see your **shattered body** in a pool of its **own blood** as you get to see **the marrow of your own bones** licking out. But I know that wouldn't be enough to satisfy the **rage** in me right now. So, I'll excuse myself from this situation before I do something you will regret."

After saying that the gamer opened her map and touched one of the training ground areas. But before confirming her destination she looked back at the frightened boy.

"Oh, and before I forget…" she started and then actually glared. Doing so made everyone suddenly feel a much harsher pressure fall on them and some of the weaker students started to find it very hard to breathe. Yet most of it, they could tell, was directed at Goto Yamura who could not breathe because of it. "**If I even hear of anyone ever speaking ill of my mother, who not even the Hokage knew, I will come after you first. Then **_**I will break you**_**, plaster whatever is left of **_**your still conscious body**_** in the center of town and then I'll visit them for a little talk about **_**proper manners**_**.**"

And with that, the girl disappeared from everyone's sight.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X

~ High above Konohagakure ~

As Naruko floated above the village she wondered why the system hadn't transported her instantly when a worried Benihime appeared before her. The fairy quickly told her that the training ground area was different from the other travel points. The reason being that the system recognized all training ground around the village as just one big interlocking network. The Navi then told the gamer to choose from a list of images that represented the elements or setups of each training ground. The whiskered girl knew she needed to destroy something before she hurt someone. Therefore, she selected the training ground with large logs and boulders. Once the destination was set, she rocketed to the earth and landed without a problem.

Not a second later she had to dodge a barrage of kunai and Shuriken that came flying at her. Instinct took over and she jumped away from a job as a pincushion. Landing she quickly pulled out her scythe and looked direction the knives had come from. Then she swings down the weapon to strike down the Fuma Shuriken that followed. Immediately she had to bend back to avoid being skewered by a javelin that came whistling for her head. Quickly she when back to standing but the last thing she saw was the bottom of the blue ninja sandal that smashed into her face.

Naruko didn't know how long she was out but when she did regain consciousness, the gamer noticed two things: 1) her head as pounding like a hammer on an anvil and 2) someone had taken off her jacket to put in under her head. Naruko let out a small groan as she got up felt a callused hand lightly push her back down.

"Whoa, there young one! That last kick was a solid blow and you might have a concussion." the voice of a male adult warned her. The whiskered girl could feel an incredible level of strength from just the man's hand. Yet his voice did spook of genuine concern for her wellbeing.

"If what hit me was a human foot you have to tell that person to cut down with the iron in their diet." she joked while holding her head. She was about to start healing herself when she heard female giggling.

"I'm not sure that how that works." the teenage female voice commented. Hearing the young voice Naruko slowly opened an eye. There she saw a girl with chocolate color eyes and hair that was styled in two buns that made her look like a panda. The panda girl was wearing a pink sleeveless qipao-style blouse with red sleeve trimming and yellow fastening buttons, dark green pants, and blue ninja sandals. She also noticed the girl had a standard blue ninja headband with a leaf symbol on it. She couldn't place it but the girl did look familiar.

Then she looked next to the kunoichi and saw one boy on each side. To Naruko's right was a boy with white eyes but they felt similar to Hinata's lavender ones so they were probably family. He had dark brown hair and wore a beige-colored jacket closed with straps, dark brown shorts, and blue ninja sandals with bandages wrapped around this right arms and leg while his ninja headband was black with straps falling to the side of his head. Then the other boy had black shiny hair cut in a bowl-style and he had large eyebrows. He was wearing a green jumpsuit with orange leg warmers and a large red forehead used as a belt while his arms were covered in bandages.

"Well, given the headbands… I'm going to say you're a Genin team and in my blinding rage I accidentally interrupted your training." the blonde analyzed which earned her a hearty laugh from the adult voice that had warned her before. Turning she saw a carbon-copy of the green boy only older.

"That is an excellent show of deduction skills for someone with a concussion!" the Jonin-sensei exclaimed with actual honesty much to the blonde girl's surprise. As the man laughed/praised her Naruko took that moment to look at her HP and her eyes widen.

'_SWEET MOTHER OF MANA! No wonder my head is killing me! Whoever kicked me managed to drop me to 12HP in that only hit!_' she yelled to herself internally in both wonder and horror. The gamer thanked every possible god she had ever heard of for the armor and whatever power had been covering her body before they attack her. The shiver of fear that passed through her body at the mental image of her skull being splattered from that attack was as cold as a Blizzaga spell.

"Stop laughing Gai-sensei! You're scaring the poor girl!" the kunoichi of the team admonished her teacher. The man for his part stopped while looking both hurt and confused at the possibility that he was the cause of a young girl's fear. Then the man started trying to make excuses at it couldn't possibly be him which cause a small exchange of words between him and the kunoichi. It was during the small fight, which the adult was losing fast, that Naruko finally noticed that her companion fairy was nowhere near here. She was about to start worrying when a voice sounded in her ear.

{_Don't react to my voice!_} Benihime voice could be heard from the radio in the Uzumaki's ear. {_Right now, I'm in one of the treetops looking at you and the genins. From left to right their names are Rock Lee, Tenten Higurashi, and Neji Hyuga. The ones how shot at you was the girl but the one that kicked you was the mini-Gai. However, the real reason I'm hiding is the Hyuga. He seems to have a bloodline limit because his eyes changed to look like a broken mirror with the veins that popped on the side of his head. _

_With it, he seems to gain the ability to see chakra because he could see and follow my movements. But it looks like it has a limited range since he stopped following me after I got high enough. Anyway, since we don't know much yet I made sure that you would not get any notifications from the game system just in case. Regretfully this means any quest that would appear while in the team's presence may turn into an automatic failure. Sorry about that._}

"It's okay," Naruko answered loud enough to stop the fighting and probably saved Gai-sensei. "I was just thinking of what would have happened to my head if the chakra hadn't softened the blow."

"YES! THAT WAS INDEED A BRILLIANT DISPLAY OF CHAKRA USAGE! IT WAS AS IF THE VERY FLAMES OF YOUTH WERE ENGULFING YOU THERE MIGHT!" Lee screamed with incredible passion. Naruko noticed that for a brief moment his eyes looked to have burst into flames while yelling that. Then in a blink of those literal flames where gone. Tenten for her part just rolled her eyes and smacked him on the head with a spiked mace that she got from somewhere. Against all possibility, the metal weapon seemed to become cracked and one of the spikes fell off after the hit.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to yell like that while standing that close to my ears!" Tenten reprimanded the boy who blushes as a child caught with his hand on the cookie jar. Then she turned to the Uzumaki with an apologetic smile "Sorry about that. My team is a little strange as you can see. But Lee-kun does have a point. What was that jutsu?"

"Yes, that would be a good place to start." the Hyuga of the group spoke while glaring at the Uzumaki. "The amount of chakra you were exuding was too high for a simple academy student or a genin. A not to mention that even when you were unconscious, I could still see the armor underneath your clothes. Armor that when Tenten took off your goggles and jacket appeared on your head and arms." he told before his glare intensified with the help of him activating the Byakugan.

Regretfully for him, he never met the unpredictable force of nature known as Naruko Uzumaki.

"You… you… you… YOU PERVERT!" one Naruko Uzumaki screamed at the top of her lungs to the surprise of everyone. Then as the girl was covering her chest with the left arm and closed her legs, she summoned her scythe and raised it far above her head. "This is what you get you, pedophile!"

That was all the warning she gave before flinging the weapon at Neji. The genin team jumped away from the flying buzz saw which gave the girl enough time to call out her Kunai and threw them at the Hyuga. Being used to dodging or catching far more accurate and faster projectiles he caught the rusty knives without a problem. Then his all-seeing-eye caught two chakra sources from opposite directions. One was Naruko who looked to be using healing jutsu on herself to cure the damage done to her while she was on the move. The second signature was minuscule but behind him and coming fast. He heard Tenten yelling him to duck and he did so just in time to avoid the scythe on its way back. The whiskered girl managed to heal herself enough to stop her body from feeling like death and caught the scythe. Then she threw it once at the boy but horizontally before summoning the sake bottle and lighter from her inventory. Next, the gamer ran at the boy while taking a swing of the bottle.

Neji had just stood up from rolling away from the spinning weapon and glared at his attacker before the Byakugan user saw her stop about 10ft before him. The blonde then flicked the lighter on and spit the liquor onto the flame. Instincts took over the as the genin and he quickly backpedaled away from the flame. This put him right in the path of the scythe on its return trip which forced Neji to do a jump flip over the weapon. It passed below him right towards the fire but too his surprise the weapon seemed to easily cut the flame without getting a single ember on its wooden handle before the small child caught it expertly in her hand. Then just as one of his legs managed to land on the ground, the boy had to bend back to dodge a swing from the girl's weapon.

Yet that wasn't enough as the girl quickly drew the blade back to put the pummel behind his leg to tripped him. Neji's back hit the ground unceremoniously but he didn't get any time to rest as the Hyuga had to roll away from the blade coming down on him. Neji's all-seeing-eyes showed him that had he not done so the blade would have stabbed him right through the heart. Next, he finally succeeded in getting firmly on his feet only to jump again as another horizontal attack was throw at him but this time low enough to the ground that it would have cut of his feet if he hadn't done so.

Then he notices that the whiskered girl was now below him and grinning like a madwoman while holding her lighter and spray can about to be pressed. Lucky for him his sensei finally decided to stop this madness by snatching the can from the dangerous girl's hands. Hence, when he landed Neji tried to knock out the blonde with a Gentle Fist to the forehead but he too was stopped by the man. Then the Hyuga's eye widens as he saw the scythe returning though this time it was at waist height. Thinking quickly, he tackled Gai to the ground while the girl was busy complaining about the can being taken away from her. But unlike what he thought would happen, which was the girl getting cut by her weapon, the blue-eyed girl simply put her hand out and caught the spinning scythe with ease.

"Why did you stop me?! I was about to teach that pervert about what happens to perverted peeping pedophiles!" Naruko turned to the males with a glare as she covered her private areas from the white-eyed boy.

"I'm not a pedophile!"

"Yes, you are! You were using those pervert eyes of yours to look through my clothes! You pervert!"

"I didn't look through your clothes!"

"Then how do you know I have more armor when they're under my clothes?" the Uzumaki questioned while pointing her weapon at the kneeling genin. "There are only two ways for you to know that! Either you took off my clothes or you used those perverted eyes of yours!" After that, both of them glared at one another with as much intensity as they could. The rest of the team could almost see the lightning connecting the two sets of glaring eyes. Tenten and Lee were about to set in and stop another fight from breaking out when Gai put a hand on both of the warring faction's heads.

"Now, now my youthful children! We are all allies of the leaf here! There is no reason for you to waste the flames of your youth on a simple misunderstanding!" the jonin announce with cheerful vigor but the genin and academy student kept glaring at each other.

"Unless he explains how he saw the armor I will not back down."

"I can see it because to my eyes your armor appears over your clothes as pure translucent chakra. Now explain how you can hide a full set of armor under regular clothing that would make it impossible to do so like those short pants that completely exposed your legs." After the Hyuga explained himself the girl smirked and called back her scythe into its ring form before walking away. Neji blinked in surprise and then shot up to his feet and screamed: "Get back here and explain yourself!"

"Don't remember ever making a deal where I would tell you my secret!" Naruko called out over her shoulder as she crossed her fingers behind the back of her head. "I just asked you how you knew about my armor," she added while walking towards her jacket. Her eyes also noticed her helmet and goggles were there too. She could feel the white-eye glare trying to burn a hole through her skull but it only made her want to laugh. At the same time, the blonde could hear Tenten trying and failing to hold her laugh besides an awestruck Lee.

"That… That is most unyouthfull behavior!" the bushy brow genin finally called out trying to sound menacing. But she could tell he seemed to be enjoying the Hyuga's mistake equally.

"You guys are ninjas now. I thought you would be used to your foes using trickery and deceit to fool you by now. Dattebayo!" the Uzumaki announce while putting on her jacket. Seeing as she had her back turned to the team, she didn't notice Tenten's eyes widening in recognition.

"Wait a minute… dattebayo? The only persona I know that says that is…" Tenten whispered to herself before calling out "Knives?"

"Knives? How do you know that name? The only one who ever calls me that was…" Naruko started questioning before her own eyes widen as something clicked "Katana-oneechan?!"

"It is you!" both females cheered before squealing in joy much to the boy's surprise. Then even surprising for them their weapon mistress ran towards the younger girl arms stretched for a hug. Seconds later the small girl glomped the kunoichi who proceeded to spin them as they both laughed and giggled like the long lost friends they were. Then when the brown-haired girl stopped spinning, she gave the blonde one last hug and put the student down.

"Oh, my Log! I haven't seen you since that last job with did at the Broken Coin!" Tenten commented with a grin while sitting down with her friend. "Damn, I still remember that look on those idiot's faces when we swindled them out of all of those coins," she added with a laugh that was joined by her partner in crime.

"Yeah! I used me cut of the winnings to boy myself a NES with a few games. You should come back to my place. I have Contra and Super Mario Bros 3. Bowser and those aliens wouldn't stand a chance against the Bloody Knife Sisters!"

"Oh, I would love that! Ever since the Broken Coin was burned down, I've missed my time with my little sister. But you have to tell me where you live first since you never told me before."

"The Bloody Knife Sister? / You knew this brat?" the males of the team asked in confusion. The ruder question came from the Byakugan user that was still glaring at the girl that attacked him. The weapon mistress rolled her eyes while patting her honorary sister's head to stop the student from fighting the genin again.

"Be nice Neji-kun. It's your fault for that thinking your questions wouldn't be invading a girl's privacy."

"She attacked first." the boy tried to defend himself. However, Naruko noticed that for some reason his voice had lost a lot of its edge when talking to her sister even if Neji tried to hide it behind his frown.

"No, you said something dangerous appeared and ordered Lee-kun and me to neutralize it. Then while she was surrounded after regaining consciousness you started questioning her about what she was wearing underneath her clothes. I would have acted like her too in that situation. As for how I know her… Well, how do I put this?"

"Katana-oneechan and I used to hustle coins from stupid boys that thought girls couldn't play videogames. The reason we were called the Bloody Knife Sisters was because of the disguise Katana-nee thought for us. She bought us black hired wigs with red highlights and red-tinted shades. Then she painted bloody knives on our cheeks to hide my whiskers. After that Oneechan here would trick them into making bets against me after which I would annihilate them in whatever game we would play.

Normally we played to chump change so the guys wouldn't kick us out or call the police on us. Regretfully about two years ago someone figured out I was one of the sisters and thought burning down the arcade would be perfect payback. The worst part is that they did it with people still in there to probably kill me. Thankfully I was busy in detention and the people there all got out with no major injuries. But I'm surprised we never met again during the ninja academy Katana-oneechan."

"Sorry about that Knives. My parents thought it was time I started working on the family business. Just in case the kunoichi thing didn't work out."

"Really? Well, that's a bummer." Naruko commented with a slight frown. "What boring shop was it anyway?"

"It's a weapon and armor shop. Also, I ended up loving working in it a lot more than before after that taught me how to work the forge. Remember that you came up with my nickname because you said I smelled like that swords the ANBU use. Well, that was because I used to clean the weapons my father forges. After he started training me properly in the craft, and I ended up liking it. Now I make and maintain the weapons my team and I use for my missions. It's kind of why my dream right now is to be the number one Weapon Mistress in the village."

"So, you're now a kunoichi and blacksmith? That's so cool! That just means we have more things to talk about because I took up smithing as well."

"Now? Better be careful there, Knives. I might start thinking of you as a rival."

"That or we could work together. It could be the rebirth of the Bloody Knife Sister!"

"HA! With ideas like that dad would probably love you." Tenten announced while giving the girl a small smack on her back. "By the way. Why are you here, Knives? It's a Monday so shouldn't you be at the academy and while we're at it what was the huge chakra level you were throwing around?" the weapon mistress asked with worry for her little sister.

At hearing these questions Naruko sighed and felt some of her forgotten anger bubbling back up. However, unlike before were the source of her anger was in front of her the blonde was close to an actual friend filled with worry. Thus, the gamer easily managed to reel in her anger while a calming breath and asked Team Gai to sit for the story. Gai and Lee both gave her double shinning smiles, she was going to ask them to teach her how to do that, before they sat around her like little kids about to be told a new story. Neji for his part walked calming and sat on seiza position but yet frowning at her. Then Naruko started…

"Well, like a lot of good stories it all started as I was beating up this guy…"

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X

**Author's Notes**:

Sorry for the small cliffhanger but I thought that was a good place to end the chapter.

Also, someone mentions I made a mistake when I mentioned that Naruko had a NES instead of a Famicom and calling the first Dragon Quest by that name instead of Dragon Warrior as it was called in the West. I'm aware of that but I thought it would be an acceptable break from reality. Therefore as a small warning from now on whenever I refer to a gaming console I'll use their Western names so it's NES and SuperNES. As for the Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior series I'll go with the DQ name since its how I became quietened with the series. But don't worry, most of this would be background information that doesn't affect the plot of the story.

* * *

**Update: 08/17/2019**

Grammar

**Update: 04/22/2020**

Grammar


	6. Teaching can go both ways (I)

**Chapter 6: Teaching can go both ways (Part I)**

(07:00 pm)

~ Front of Naruko's Apartment building ~

As Naruko appeared she marveled at how her body had grown accustomed to the fast travel system. It was certainly extra useful after how her body felt right now. If she was willing to bet that if she were to look herself in a mirror all she would see was a collection of bruises, cuts, and dirt.

"Maybe taking up Gai-sensei's offer to be Bushy Brow's training partner was not such a good idea, dattebayo." the blonde girl told herself while limping towards her home.

"Well, look at the bright side! At least you now know hand to hand combat or taijutsu as the shinobi call it. Plus, Gai-sensei did give you a few scrolls and videotapes with proper basic forms for you to start learning basic stances. Not to mention he also gave you notes on how to keep a balanced diet and a good starting workout schedule." Benihime said trying to make her partner feel better. The small chuckle from girl told her it wasn't needed.

"That was a nice plus to becoming a training dummy. Hopefully, with those notes, I'll one day get to be an actual challenge for Bushy Brow. At least he's fun to fight and he did give me pointers on how to move when attacking or defending while we were sparing." Naruko commented while reminiscing about what happened today.

After Tenten had asked the blonde what the academy student was doing in the training area Naruko told them about how Goto had insulted her mother. She told them how each word out of Goto's mouth just kept adding more and more fuel to the fire until she finally exploded. The Uzumaki didn't know why she was covered in chakra during this but she explained that it made her feel far stronger than she had ever been before. At saying this the girl noticed the jonin seem to be in deep thought over the information.

When the kunoichi in training asked about what he was thinking the man looked at her seriously and asked her to explain what she was feeling in detail. Confuse but trusting the man Naruko explained that it was as if her body was on fire from the power running through it while her skin felt as tough as steel. Her sense seemed to been enhanced to the point she could hear her opponent's heartbeat. But the strangest part for her was how she could feel the rage wanting to eat her until only a beast was left.

Hearing about the anger the shinobi took on more serious looked that was not missed by his team or the kunoichi in training. They had expected for him to ask it but instead, the man questioned how the girl managed to control herself enough to decide to step away. Hearing the question Naruko had bitten her lips before saying she had started practicing meditation to clear her mind. Other people like the Hokage or Iruka would have never taken that answer seriously without seen proof first since they knew the girl but Gai only knew the Uzumaki by reputation. Therefore, while he could tell the academy student was hiding some of the truth, he still trusted her.

As a result, the jonin sensei decided to explain what he thought the girl had experienced. It was there the children learned that the girl had just manifested the technique known as **Battle Aura**. Bushy Brow had immediately asked if that meant the Naruko had started to unlocked something called the **Eight Inner Gates** while looking at the girl as if he just found a true rival. Gai had laughed heartily before saying that while that could layer be a possibility right now what she used was a safer version of the technique which people tended to use instinctively during high-stress situations. He also explained that it had a similar effect as resealing the _Gate of Opening_ and the user could only maintain this powered-up state by consuming their chakra.

However, the technique three mayor limits that prolonged users of it found out. First was that the user must have a physically fit body to maintain a **Battle Aura** for more than 15 seconds. But even a taijutsu specialist like Gai himself had only ever managed to maintain this technique for 5 minutes before the exhaustion became too much. The second was that most power-up people have managed to gain from this was an x4 multiplier to their strength before they ran out of chakra to feed the technique. The third and final drawback of the **Battle Aura** was that the human body could not use this technique in conjunction with the opening of the inner gates without it being killing the user immediately.

After that explanation and warning, the jonin noticed it was time for lunch. He offered to invite them all to Yakiniku Q. The genins naturally accepted the free meal but Naruko had initially declined on account of being used to places not allowing her to enter or simply not serving here at all. Gai however, refused to take no for an answer. Sighing the young blonde begrudgingly accepted after getting her helmet and goggles. The whiskered girl had a small chuckle at Neji's expense when he glared at seeing the leather helmet disappeared when she up on the green goggles back on her head.

After that, they did a small race between the genin towards the village that with Lee winning, Neji in second place, Tenten in third and finally Naruko bringing up the rear by a large margin. They had to wait for her to get there which the panda girl asked about in worry. Naruko while trying to catch her breath lied saying it was probably the side effects of using the **Battle Aura** for the first time and her sister accepted it at face value because at the end of the day it didn't matter. Benihime for her part explained her slow speed was a consequence of her stats being reset when Gamer Soul had been installed.

It was here the team noticed how Naruko had put on the fox hood over her head and moved at a pace that would not disturb its position. Normally that alone was suspicions but when she only talked back in a soft and calm voice Tenten had to ask what was wrong. This time Naruko answered with sprinkles of truth by saying she just didn't want people to know she was technically playing hooky and didn't want the ANBU to bring her back to school today especially after the way she left. The female teenager giggled at that and left it alone for old-times sakes. Neji could be heard grumbling about "bad influences" but everyone ignored him.

Once they reach the restaurant the team entered, got themselves a table and waited for the waiter to take their order. Naruko, for her part, took off her hood and waited for the inedible as she stat besides her honorary sister. Sure enough, the moment a young man came to take their orders his eye landed on her. The fool gave the girl a small glare before turning back to the surprised team with a smile.

_| Flashback ~ Start! |_

"_Hello, my name is Sato and I'll be your waiter for today. So, what will the four of you be ordering today?" the black-haired waiter asked with a smile._

"_I believe you mean five, Sato-san." the mini-Gai corrected with a polite tone but you could see the anger over the disrespect__ in he had just seen before his eyes._

"_Beg your pardon?" Sato replied with _genuine_ confusion over why he had been corrected. It made Naruko roll her eyes at how obvious the guy was being. So, not wanting a confrontation and making a mental photo of the guys to make him her next target, the whiskered girl started getting up. She didn't even get a centimeter off the chair before her sister's hand brought her back down._

"_I believe Lee-kun said there are five of us here or did you forget to count Knives here after you glared at her?" Tenten inquired with a stare as cold and sharp as one of her weapons at the soon to be dead-man. Even Neji, who still wanted to beat the Uzumaki senseless, was staring at the guy like he was an idiot. Then the waiter laughed and smirked towards the whiskered girl._

"_Oh no, I didn't forget. We just don't serve her kind here."_

_| Flash Back ~ End! |_

Had it not been for Gai-sensei materializing behind the fool and pulling him away the waiter would have lost what little evidence there was that he was a male. Reason being the sharp naginata the very angry weapon mistress had pulled out of nowhere and had trusted to where his family jewels had been. Yet the boy was not safe as the boisterous jonin laughed while no so gently dragging the young man to talk with him and the owner. After that, they only waited for a couple of minutes before a new employee came to withe the sensei in tow. This time it had been a young and cute waitress that didn't even dare look at Naruko without smiling.

Then as they cooked and ate the food the academy student learn that Team Gai was in the training ground because it was their mandatory week vacation from the C rank mission, they had just come back from. When the young girl asked why then, were they training instead of resting Gai and Lee laughed in unison as she had told the funniest joke ever. She also noticed how the weapon mistress also laughs but it was far deader and with haunted eyes. Almost fearing the answer, the young asked her sister if she was okay.

"Oh, don't worry Knives. It's just that Team Gai's motto is to always strive to be stronger than the day, hour, a minute or second you were before."

Even someone was dense the Naruko Uzumaki could recognize the haunted look her big sister was given her. The preteen wisely chose to forgo that line of questioning and proceeded to stuff her face with food. Thankfully, the rest of the meal was a rather normal affair with them talking about their lives, how things were in the academy and a few details about the Genin Exam that the Uzumaki didn't know about. Then there was the part were the sisters started getting reacquainted while the boys learn about their teammate's "criminal" past. After the food, Gai once more invited Naruko for another round of training once they properly rested. Tenten was quick to agree for her and the rest was history as the gamer was introduced to the _Gai Might's Youthful Training for the Spring Time of Youth_ training program!

"At least now I know I can't fully heal practice injuries with my magic. I'm going to need some healing items to cure these scraps or that least a long sleep." Naruko commented as she finally got to the third floor. But soon the girl glared as she noticed her front door was open. "Benihime, would it be possible for you to check who is inside?"

The fairy nodded and proceeded to fly into the apartment. The door was open just enough for the little creature to enter without a problem. Benihime was quickly assaulted with a caravan of delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Wondering why that was the fairy slowly flew to the kitchen only to be surprised by the sight of one Iruka Umino cooking. Wondering if what she was seeing was an illusion the Navi used a small burst of chakra to destroy any genjutsu in the area but found none. Iruka, however, did notice the small fluctuation of chakra and turned towards the fairy.

The scarred chunin turned around to greet who he thought would be the infamous trickster queen. Benihime could see the confusion written on his face one nothing greeted him. Then she noticed him grab one of the kitchen knives, place the handle in his mouth and proceeded to do through some hand signs. That told the fairy she should not be there and bolted to the door. As she passed the door and looked behind it turned out that the jutsu had just been a sensor technique. Thankfully being close to the Uzumaki masked her small signature.

"Oh, Naruko-chan! It's me, Iruka-sensei. Come in, I need to talk about what happened today." the chunin could be heard from inside the small dwelling.

"Iruka-sensei? What's he doing here?" the gamer questioned with a raised eyebrow in confusion. The Navi for her part sat on the whiskered girl's shoulder.

"He was cooking food for you. But I guess he also wants to know what you did today after you disappeared." the redhead answered. With that, both females entered the Uzumaki's home to meet the warm welcome of the friendly chunin instructor. But once the man saw the girl's condition he gasped.

"Naruko-chan! What happened to you?" the scarred man gasped as he saw the Uzumaki's injured state. Then, much to the girl's humor, he started fussing over her like a mother hen.

"I'm okay sensei! I was just training with a jonin named Gai Might." the girl informed with a slight grin as she softly batted the man's hands.

"Is that where you've been the whole day?" the chunin asked with an incredulous look at the girl's battered body. To him, it looked more like the trouble maker had gotten into a street brawl and lost badly. He did notice how some of the smaller cuts were slowly healing even. Though the girl didn't notice it since the pace was very slow. Still, it was far too fast for either a civilian or shinobi. '_Is this part of her curse? Maybe there might be a plus to having that monster sealed in her._' he thought with a level of guilt for keeping that secret from his grinning student.

"Yeah, I went to a training ground to blow off some steam. Turns out the one I chose was occupied but Gai-sensei decided to help me when he saw me. Something about it being very youthful to help a fellow shinobi enjoy their springtime of youth." Naruko explained to her teacher while unaware of the teacher's inner turmoil. Then she sniffed around as the smell of food finally hit her. "By the way, what are you cooking? It smells delicious!"

"Don't get your hopes up too much. It's just some rice with fried chicken. I'm not much of a chef and you had very little in the way of ingredients so I had to go out and buy them." Iruka answered with a small chuckle as he stood up.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to buy supplies for a while but I've been busy." the small girl confessed while scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

"I'll say…" the man started as he looked around the clean apartment. "Last time I came here the whole apartment looked like the whole village threw their garbage here. Now I think this place cleaner than it's ever been."

"It better be clean. I nearly died twice cleaning this place." Naruko muttered under her breath. The chunin heard it but just chucked it up to the girl exaggerating things like any child did when they had to do chores. Then again, having to clean the whole apartment building by herself must having exhausting even for someone with nearly limited energy like the blonde troublemaker.

"By the way, where are your first-aid kit? The food is nearly done so you could look for it while I serve our food."

"Sorry, sensei but I used the last of it ages ago and ever bother to buy more. I kind of always healed fast anyway." the girl answered before Benihime reminded her of the herbs. She nodded before quickly following the instructions and fake rummaging through her jacket while materializing the healing item. "I did pick up these herbs I saw on a training ground," she announced after producing said brown bag full of herbs and handed it to the instructor.

"Wow, those are some good quality herbs. May do you good to remember where you pick those up." Iruka commented in surprise at seeing the quality of the leaves inside the bag. Then there was the quantity of them as the small fist size bag as practically overflowing with the fresh greens. Seeing this as an opportunity to teach the student a valuable skill he started looking through the pockets of his chunin jacket. Then he pulled out a small storage scroll and summoned an item set that he handed to the kunoichi in training. "Here. Use the mortar and pestle to ground them into a paste. We'll use that on your wounds."

"That's going to sting isn't it," Naruko commented while grabbing the grey stone tools.

With that, they walked to the kitchen/dining room where Iruka continued to finish the food while Naruko sat at the dining table. After that, the teacher told the student to put the leaves on the mortar and with a decent amount of strength to smash and roll the leaves until they turn them into a paste. At first, the girl was just smashing the pestle like it was a hammer but the sensei quickly corrected her so she wouldn't break either of the items. After that, the girl did as she was instructed and lost herself in the rhythm of making the new healing item. During this, she did notice that Iruka had gone full teacher mode to give her a full lecture on the usage of healing herbs and their usage over history.

Like most times she promptly zoned out the lesson.

Benihime, on the other hand, seemed to be entered by the man's voice so maybe the teacher did reach someone that day.

* * *

[An Herb |Common| and an Empty Bottle |Common| have been consumed.]

[You have created Medical Cream (Good) |Common|]

[Through practice and following your teacher's instructions you've unlocked the **Crafting Skill: Herbalism**.]

[**Crafting Skill: Herbalism [Lv1]**

Description – herbalism is one of the branches of the crafting arts know as Alchemy. This skill helps the herbalist measure their mastery over the use of pants to create a variety of potions from healing medicines to deadly poisons. The higher the herbalist's level the stronger and complex will be the concoctions they can make.

Lv1 – lets the user craft low-level potions and poisons

Lv1 – Increases the quality of the concoction by one level]

* * *

"Well, what do you know? Following the teacher's instructions does help in the long run." Naruko proclaimed in slight awe at both the new skill and the small clear jar with green cream that materialized before her.

"If only you and every other student would have learned that earlier I would have so many headaches." Iruka Umino could be heard muttering while turning off the stove. Then he turned to look at what the girl had done and raised an eyebrow at the result. "You do know you didn't have to put it on a jar, right?"

"Sorry, I kind of got lost in the moment." the girl answered with partial truth while grabbing her new item and inspecting it. "It felt calming working on that so I just kept going until everything was finished."

"Can't argue with the results. So, what do you want to do right now? Eat now and take a bath later or take the bath first?"

"As much as I want to eat right now, I think I'll take a bath first. That way the cream won't wash off. But please, you eat first sensei."

Thus, the Uzumaki went to her bathroom while leaving the adult surprised at the way she was acting. See, what the girl hadn't noticed was that normally the person known as Naruko Uzumaki was very implosive and would have eaten first before anything. Thankfully Iruka had a soft spot for the little hell-raiser and instead of thinking like a ninja, which meant thinking something was happening with the girl, he thought the Uzumaki was just starting to mature. Though he did hope that didn't she discovered that boys exist. That mental image of the Uzumaki joining the fangirls sent a shiver down his spine.

Back with the gamer, she was already at the bathroom and disrobing when it finally clicked that she could see the screens again. When Naruko asked her Navi the creature said the lock had been undone after they left the Hyuga genin's sight. With that knowledge, the girl opened up the quest window as she waited for the hot water to fill the tub and the cold water for the bucket. What she saw made her frown but not surprised.

* * *

[Quest: Aim for the top! **(FAILED)**]

[Challenge: Low-level run **(FAILED)**

[̸̢̤͑͛̌̈́Ą̸̲̾̇̀̎͘f̷̼̗̥͎̿̃̕f̸̡̬̹̼͇̓̎̈́̅͛͑ͅi̵͔͛͂́̑̃͌ṅ̷͖̼ḭ̸̝̙͕͈̖͝ṯ̵͚̦͎̤̲͂̅̔̇̋y̶̢̨̥͕̑͆̋ͅ ̶͕͆͋̎̽͝Q̸̻͓̝̱̄ṳ̸̝̘́̅͋́̉͜ȇ̷̮̳͎͇͈͒s̵̢̖͇̼͔̽́͒̉͌͠t̷̗͍͚͈̑̓:̴̛̮̰͋̈́͝ ̷̰̝͍͍̏͑̉̎̽̑O̷̡̧̮̜̍͛͒̕ṛ̷̟̲̱̹̿͆͒̈p̷̛̞̤͇̥̱̮͗̂̉͝h̵̖̺̏̄̂͘á̷̘̫͐̚n̶̨͔̹̼͕͒̈̋̕'̷̛̠̯̪̳̯͋̔́̂͒s̵̟̠̠͉̮̱̔͂͑̕ ̷̨͉̪̽́͒͝Ŗ̸͕̃̾̔̑̄͌a̴̪̱̬͆̓ͅģ̶̰̗́̄̅͝ȇ̵͈̥̥̟̬̇̃̄ ̴̡͍̣͉̀̿̅̕(̷̤̲̜͚̼̘̊̇͛͐̕͝**F̷͙̖̥͔̿̈́͘A̷̙̖͍̤̾̾I̸͉̗̪̎̀̽L̴͚̔̅͒͋͛̀E̸̗͈͂͛̚͝D̷͔̞̪͖̬̊̒̈̒͜**)̸̨̝̤̺͇̋̿̚]̸͉̲͎̼̐͝]

[Quest: Beat that pervert into that ground! **(FAILED)**]

[Challenge: Race against Team Guy **(FAILED)**]

[Challenge: Land 3-hits on Rock Lee **(FAILED)**]

* * *

"Those are a lot of failed quest for a single day." the gamer muttered at see today's results. "Wait a minute, that's that weird red and black quest?"

Letting curiosity get the better of her the blonde clicked the broken quest to see if they could decipher what it was. The moment her fingers touched the red and black bar it felt like a bolt of electricity ran through her arms. Along with the white-hot pain from it came a return of all the rage she had felt against Goro. But this was only a fleeting moment as she quickly snapped her hand away from the screen. Still, the burning sensation stayed in her fingertips.

"Naruko-san, your hand!" Benihime gasped which prompted said girl to look at the appendage. Not a second later the girl yelled in panic as she saw the red and orange flames covering her arm. Thinking fast she plunged the hand into the water filling the tub. A second later the Uzumaki blinked as she managed to perfectly see the fire inside the water before said water started to violently bubble. Regretfully just as she was about to comment on it the water erupted like a volcano and scalded her face.

[You have been hit by boiling water! You have been afflicted with **Burn** status!]

The girl cursed in pain as she rolled around on the ground while holding her face. Hearing the screams Iruka ran towards the bathroom but being a gentleman stopped and knocked, if frantically, on the door to ask if she was alright. Thinking quickly the girl answered that she was alright just surprised because the water exploded after she put too much chakra in it when trying to heat it. At the same time, the gamer pulled out an Anti-burn and sprayed it on her face to stop the burning.

"Okay, Naruko. But be careful and try not to do that again. Nature chakra can be very dangerous and especially so for people that don't have good chakra control." Iruka's voice was heard through the door.

"It's okay, sensei. I just figured as much!" Naruko answered back and noticed that the fire around her hand had dissipated somewhat. Yet in its wake, the usually tanned skin had darkened a shade more while her nails were now an inch long. Not to mention they became so black they seemed to be _eating_ the light around them and from the glint, the girls could tell the nails were sharped as any recently sharpened sword. Then the Uzumaki noticed her partner was looking at her in surprise and pointing at the mirror.

Already dreading what she would find the girl got up and walked to the mirror over the sink. Yet even that could not have prepared her for the feral image of herself staring back. Her eyes had become blood red with black slits for pupils. Then her whiskered marks had darkened to become more pronounced. Then the feral child's tongue could feel that now canines had slightly elongated to the point one could almost see the upper ones poking out of her lip. Thankfully she felt the Gamer Mind activate to calmer her down and not cause another scene.

This helped the red-eyed girl take a calming breath before looking at the new parts. To her surprise, the obsidian nails started dissipating like burning paper. Next was her skin getting back to its normal natural tanned shade. Looking back at the mirror the Uzumaki looked out in wonder as her whisker marks receded into thin lines while her eyes turned back to their regular cerulean.

"Okay… that was freaky." Naruko commented as her body returned to normal. "Any ideas?" she asked the fairy.

"There are a few possibilities but we would need a bottle of holy water and a drop of your blood first," Benihime answered while summoning a small crystal jar filled with holy water.

"Let me guess. If the blood burns I'm a demon." the whiskered girl snarked as she helped to open the jar by turning the holy cross on top of the cork.

"If you were a demon the blood will burst into flames before touching the water. Then if you're a half-demon the blood will boil when it lands on the water. However, if you are just a human nothing is will happen."

Once the jar was opened Naruko summoned her steel scythe and made little cut her finger with the blade. The weapon was quickly dismissed and the girl put the cut finger over the now opened jar. For the girl, time seemed to slow down to a crawl as the blood started to exist the wound. All of her concentration was invested on the one droplet of blood that escaped and fell towards the light-infused water. Up still today she had never believed when people called her a monster but after seeing that transformation she was spooked. Then when the blood harmlessly fell into the holy water without causing it to boil relief overcame her.

"Phew, that's a burden off my…" the non-demon started saying in happiness right before the jar cracked. Seconds later the crystal shattered and spilled the water all over the sink. "shoulders. Great, what does _that_ mean?!"

"It means you're a human but with_ a lot _of demonic powers." the small redhead answered and then inquired "Where you born near a demon's den or by an area covered in strong miasma?"

"I was born on the same day the Yondaime Hokage defeated the Kyubi no Yoko."

"Yep, that will do it. On the plus side, we now know what the other chakra you can use is. Its demonic chakra which is fueled by your anger or other negative emotions. Also, its that rage and violent emotions that taint the chakra and give it that red-orange coloring. Now more than ever we'll have to start practicing your meditation so you can learn to control it. But for now, let's clean up so we don't keep Iruka-san waiting."

At the fairy's suggestion, the adventurer quickly soaped, scrubbed and soaked her body clean of the day's grime. Then she took care of her hair and carefully removed that clumps of dirt stuck to it. When that was finished she entered the tub now full of hot water and let the Gamer Body do its magic. Soon enough the residual aches and pain all around the tried body started dissipating. Unconsciously she let out a small moan of satisfaction as she closed her eyes and took in the soothing sensation the warm water was giving her. Had the girl had her eyes open she would have noticed her body was glowing a soft blue light which was the effects of her chakra gently massaging her aching muscles. The glow, however, didn't last long as when Naruko opened her eyes there was not a trace of it over her skin. She still had some cuts and bruises but at least most of the pain was gone. After that Naruko got up and went to dry herself.

"Hey, Beni-chan…" Naruko started while wrapping a towel around herself after drying most of the water. "I'm been thinking of telling Iruka-sensei about the Gamer Soul."

"What? Why would you even do that? Revealing your powers to him could put him in grave danger!"

"You do realize you're telling me that I would be putting a trained killer who can bend the elements to his whim and can hide in the shadow with ease in trouble, right?"

"Okay, now that you put it like that maybe the "a superhero must keep their identity a secret" excuse doesn't work in a world where everyone can have superpowers doesn't work. Still, a good rule of thumb would be to keep most if not all of your abilities hidden from people you do not trust."

"Oh, don't worry about the list. Excluding you, the only people I can trust with this power are Iruka-sensei, Jiji and possibly Ten-nee since Ichiraku-san and Ayame-chan aren't ninjas so they don't need to know about it."

"Only three people? What about Hinata-san? Weren't you going to make her a party member?"

"AHA! I knew I had a party member function!"

"Yes and no. I'll explain when you make Iruka-sensei a party member." Benihime informed while taking note of how fast the girl was to dodge the question about trusted friends.

Wondering what the fairy meant the girl made a quick ran to her room to change into a pair of black sleep shorts and an adult size orange t-shirt. Benihime thought it was funny how the shirt reached well pass the Uzumaki's knees. Still, it would do its job of sleepwear without a problem. After which she walked to the kitchen and meet her teacher who was waiting for her with the dinner ready.

"Iruka-sensei I have something to tell you something. But right now, I have to ask you… I know the day a was born and I've heard that people born close to powerful miasma can gain certain demonic aspects. Now that I think about it I kind of explains my whisker marks and how my hair seems to turn into tails whenever I get angry." Naruko said before getting serious. "Anyway, what I wanted to ask you was… What do you think of me? Do you see me as a person or as a demon-like everyone else in this village? Please don't lie to me."

Iruka stared at the girl cautiously after the question. Today had been rather strange in association with the small Uzumaki. At first, he had thought the girl was just finally trying to apply herself. But after that line of questions, it made him analyze the girl's behavior more closely. For starters, the girl acted far calmer than usual, showed more prowess with her chakra control, took time to aim her weapons and even when she got mad the blonde thought it was better to go away and cool down instead of staying to fight while angered. It was as if the girl had rapidly mentally matured over the weekend and in the process, the troublemaker he had become accustomed to was gone.

Had this been a mission he would have thought this was an enemy shinobi trying and failing to impersonate the energetic blue-eyed girl. But three things proved to him that this was the Naruko Uzumaki he knew. The first reason being that as far as he knew no one outside those that lived through that tragic night knew the identity of the jinchuriki of the Kyubi. The second was that he had felt the very brief burst of demonic chakra from the bathroom which had been the real reason he had run towards the bathroom moments ago. Finally, the third reason was that he saw genuine fear and vulnerability in those blue eyes.

It had taken him time to heal from the death of his parents during the Kyubi attack. But now he was in a much better place and had grown a soft spot for the demon container. The first time he saw her as a babe his younger self had hated her, but now he knew much better about the lovely if troublesome child. Hence, Iruka did what he promised to do if the girl ever came to him with questions or doubts about her humanity.

"Naruko-chan, I want you to listen to me clearly because I want you to know I am speaking the truth." the scarred male started as he got up and kneed to see her eye to eye. "I think that you are one of the strongest, bravest and stubborn persons I know. It may have taken me years to learn between therapy, meeting and talking to you but I learned that you are _not_ a monster. And I also want you to always remember this when someone tells you otherwise. "A scroll will never be the kunai sealed inside it." Always remember that because no matter what everyone says about you so long as you don't let evil rule over you, Naruko Uzumaki is not a monster."

Both Naruko and Benihime heard the conviction on his voice and saw in his eyes that without a doubt Iruka believe in what he was saying. For the whiskered girl, this was truly the first time anyone had so passionately said to her that she was not a monster. All of this time people threw an insult at her like it was a sport but not Iruka-sensei. Even when he called her things like idiot or knuckle-head during the time she got in trouble hate was never felt in his voice. That had always intrigued her and one of the reasons she liked getting the man's attention through mischief since that was the only way at the time she knew how at the time.

'_Now I know why he doesn't hate me. He overcame his hate and looked for the real me._' Naruko thought with a small gracious smile forming as she felt tears start falling for her eyes. The whiskered gamer didn't give the teacher a chance to ask why she was crying before she threw her arms around him in a fierce hug. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei. Even Jiji has never said something like that." Upon hearing those words, the chunin blinked in surprise before he reciprocated the hug. How much time passed as the two hugged and the child cried they did not know. However, when they finally did separate the girl's eyes were red and puffy.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah, it seems a good cry does help." Naruko proclaimed with a grin while drying her eyes. After that, she summoned one of her screens though to the teacher it looked like she was playing with the air. "Now as for what I wanted to talk about. Well, I think showing would be for the best."

[Naruko Uzumaki has asked to join her party.]

[Will you join?]

[YES/NO]

Iruka jumped back slightly when he saw the transparent glowing blue window appeared in front of his face. To his surprise, the screen followed him as he tried to move back and away from it. The little chase made the Uzumaki snort before the girl told him to just click the [YES] button. He threw a small glare at the academy student but did as he was told. To his surprise, he felt his finger pressing the surface of the window before it clicked and it was gone. Next thing the dolphin knew his eyes burned enough that he had to close them. But it only lasted for a second and after a few blinks, his vision returned to normal.

(P2) Iruka Umino [Lv48] ~Chunin Instructor~

XP: 15,784/19,996

HP: 4,850/4,850

MP: 2,690/2,690

(Leader) Naruko Uzumaki [Lv3] ~Trickster Queen~

HP: 101 / 101

MP: 1,444 / 1,444

"What is this?" the new party member asked upon seeing his and the girl's name alongside bars on the left side of his peripheral vision. Quickly turning to the girl in question he noticed that not only did she have those bars over her head but also the appearance of another person. The scarred man's eyes widen when he saw the small floating creature beside the girl. "Naruko-chan, what is all of this?"

"Why don't we discuss this while we eat? Benihime and I are starving!"

With that, the gamer and her fairy companion went to the dinner table to start eating. That made the chunin's eye twitch in frustration. At least that act was a confirmation that this girl still had some of the old Uzumaki he knew in her. With a sigh, he joined the two girls in their mission to fill their stomachs. Regretfully for him, no amount of training prepared him for the story the girls told him. Then as if to cement the weirdness the little redheaded fairy opened another window that shows video evidence of their first successful dungeon.

Iruka could only blink as he saw Naruko fighting and killing those monsters. Then he becomes terrified at the image of the Uzumaki bleeding to death only to be safe at the last moment. Next came the amazement over the fight against the giant cockroach wielding swords. His jaw dropped when the whiskered girl finally killed it.

'_Incredible! She's still in the academy but already fought and killed a chakra mutation that large! A monster that size would normally take at least two full chunin teams to take down. Just how strong has this Gamer Soul made her?_' he had thought in wonder. Then his chopsticks fell and were left abandoned when the humongous figure of the roach empress was shown. Panic was about to set in as he saw the monster but that rapidly turned into petty and confusion at seeing the thing killed with barely a fight. "How were you able to kill that monster so easily?"

"Firebombed it to death. I thought the video showed that pretty well." Naruko answered with confusion as to why the man-made the question. Then she felt a small poke on her cheek which made her look at her fairy.

"I think what he means is that normally chakra mutations that big are incredibly powerful and dangerous," Benihime explained and turned towards the teacher. "Am I correct in this assumption, Unimo-san?"

"Yes, Benihime-san. Chakra mutations are rare but they do happen when creatures are exposed to a great deal of natural chakra. Yet even the weakest ones are considered C-Rank missions bordering on B-Rank. Still, only seasoned chunins are allowed on those missions. Just how much stronger have you gotten in these last three days, Naruko-chan?"

"Not by much. Getting the Gamer Soul reset most of my stats to 1 and during this time I've only gotten two levels. I've seen first years that are already level 8 so they could probably kick my butt if I'm not careful."

"How is that possible? Naruko-chan, I know you and you're by far one of the strongest students in class in terms of physical strength."

"Not anymore. As I said before, part of the deal of getting my powers was to start from the beginning. But I'm going to start training for real tomorrow and hopefully be even stronger than the day before."

"I still don't get these levels you're talking about. I understand they represent your power but are they an absolute?"

"Not completely, Unimo-san." the fairy explained before summoning the screens with Naruko's stats and skills to show the chunin. "See, a player's level determines a general overall gauge of a person's power and the measure of the experience they've accumulated over their life and adventures. However, they are not absolute values as they don't take into account the attributes you gain from equipment, abilities, jobs, titles or specialties one may have or acquired. Hence, there could be a low-level player with high-level attributes. Though it should be noted that the level restrictions imposed by the Gamer Soul only affect Naruko-chan as she is now, in essence, a videogame character.

Although her knowing that she is one those open the possibility of abusing parts of the system. This being said Naruko-chan can't turn people into videogame characters as far as I know without them relinquishing all their free will to her. Therefore they remain normal humans and the only reason they possess levels alongside HP and MP bars its because Naruko-chan sees the world like that now. In other words, status bars and attribute points are the away our Uzumaki perceives and understands the world. Because of this when party members or humans in general level up they only get 100HP and 55MP."

"Why would that be? Shouldn't my party members gain attributes growth as well." the Uzumaki quested.

"As I said before, it's because they aren't PCs who can be fully controlled by you. You could call everyone else NPCs but ones that truly have a will of their own. Because of this, their traits grow just like it does for every other human. Through hard work, practice, exercise and training different aspects of themselves separately or in conjunction depending on the work-out. Thus, when people level up you could just consider it a mostly empty level since only their chakra and durability increases." the Navi informed.

"Okay, that makes me feel a little bit better with how people get more HP than me on a level up. But still, doesn't that mean my bloodline limit can forcibly decrease a person's chakra reserves when I see them for the first time or increase them when they level."

"I don't think that is correct Naruko-chan. Benihime-san, when it comes to the numbers of people you said they work as an arbitrary place holder. Would this mean that these numbers are there so that Naruko-chan can understand or at least visualize their power with easy to read numerical values?" the teacher inquired as he started understanding a little more about his student's new powers.

"Yes, that is mostly correct Iruka-san." the Navi agreed with a nod and added "As for the increase part, it can be considered forceful but it by a negligible margin. It's a fast growth for a single instance and could cause some slight pain but should not be considered dangerous. Think of it as if the person's body absorbed chakra from the world to expand their pathway or how mages are normally depicted as drinking in the mana of the world to increase their mana reserves."

"Okay so then that means the numbers are there to help you, Naruko-chan. That way you can determine if someone is in danger so you can heal them with your healing spells are you call them."

"Really? That sounds kind of weird." the whiskered blonde commented in confusion as she thought '_Why wouldn't my party members level up as well. Sure, I'm the only one with the Gamer Body but should the party function tell them to have some of my powers? I don't think bloodline limits can be shared like that but mine was… created by…_' As the young gamer concluded reached a conclusion her eye started twitching. "Don't tell me. It was too much of a hassle for your creator to implement an accurate measuring system that monitors my party member's growth. So that part was forgotten or deleted altogether." She accused while looking at the pixel wing creature who chuckled in embarrassment. her suspicions confirmed Naruko could only sigh in exasperation. "I think I'm starting to hate that stupid lazy thing that made you."

Iruka pitied the young girl and lightly patted her head like one would expect a father to do. Still, with all the information, he had gotten from the girl his mind was thinking of how things have changed. This power was new and probably never before seen bloodline limit with nearly limitless potential. This literal gift from the gods had turned the Uzumaki into the proverbial golden goose. Something that was both great for the village but could be very dangerous for the girl should the less moral people learn of her potential. As such he knew what their next course of action should be.

"I think we should tell Hokage-sama about this. That way at least you could have some protection from less savory people that may want to use your power for their gain." the scarred chunin suggested/ordered while trying to show through his tone how serious things were now.

"How could they use it for their gain? Only I can level up effectively." the gamer asked in confusion. Benihime had already told them the points on everyone but her were just numbers for her to understand the world. Then the teacher started numbering what people could gain from her powers.

"From the top of my head I could say the dungeons could give people access to limitless money, weapons, jutsus, never before seen materials and higher quality supplies," he informed while counting with his finger for added effect. Then the fairy added her two coins over another the possible abuses of the Gamer Soul.

"It should also be mention that humans have an uncanny ability for capturing and taming wild animals. So, the possibility that they could enter a dungeon, capture a monster and then train them into weapons exists."

At explanation, they could see the young blonde's face slowly lose its color in horror. Then again just imagining an army comprised of monsters from games like Final Fantasy, Castlevania, DragonQuest or any other crazy RPG under the control of a power-hungry madman would do that to anyone. Plus, the girl did not like the image of her in chains and tattered rags being forced to open portals so the other could hunt while she stained in a cage for the rest of her life.

"Okay, yeah. That would be bad. I wouldn't be surprised if someone learns of that and tries to kidnap me to brainwash me into working for them. Plus, Jiji could teach me ways to detect these people and how to fight back against possible mental attacks." Naruko agreed while trying the shake away the cold shiver that ran down her spine at the images. Seeing this Iruka patted her head again in a reassuring manner.

"It's decided then. We have to meet the Hokage tonight. It may be late but if we move quickly, we may get to the Sandaime before he goes to leaves his office." the teacher announced with a confident smile.

"Actually sensei," Naruko said while very familiar grin forming on her lips. A grin that the teacher knew all too well as he had been on the receiving end of it far too many times. "I know a shortcut to the Hokage's office building."

"I know I'm going to regret this."

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X

~ Hokage office building ~

Hiruzen Sarutobi was cursing his age right now as his back and shoulders creaked in pain. It was days like this one, when paperwork seemed unending, that his old body decided to remind him of how much he had been through. Still at least the pain told him he was alive and had not actually died buried under all of that paper.

"If I somehow managed to make it long enough to give Naruko this hat I'll make sure bring her the first wagon of paperwork with a grin on my face." the grandfather of the leaf proclaimed which earned him also near-silent laughs from his hidden bodyguards. "Speaking of our blonde trouble maker. Where did she go after leaving Team Gai?" he asked seriously. At the question, an ANBU with a falcon mask materializes kneeling before the leader's desk. After the salute, Falcon stood up and gave their report.

"Just like jonin Gai Might explain Naruko Uzumaki left for her home. Patrolling units could not see her route but the one around her home confirmed her arrival in a gust of wind. It was also reported that one chunin Iruka Umino was waiting for her with a warm dinner."

"That Iruka-kun definitely sees the girl as his daughter," Hiruken commented with a warm chuckle. This was just one of the many times the leader had heard of the chunin either buying or making food for the whiskered orphan. '_And to think when he was younger, he had sworn to always hate the demon. Take that you stupid politicians and bureaucrats for thinking assigning more psychologists to threat my shinobi was just a waste of money!_' he cheered mentally.

That had been one of the more fearsome battles he had fought in politics right after the Kyubi attack and subsequent loss of the Yondaime. That night had been a great tragedy for the village and as he was once more the role of Kage he knew something had to be done. Hence during the rescue and rebuild process, he had made a plan to help more people positively deal with the grief. Hence, he had asked for help from the Yamanaka clan to either produce more psychologists or at least teach people how to help others with mental disorders and/or mourning. Some of the clan thought it was a bad idea to share some of their secrets with none clan members.

Thankfully the gran mayoralty saw this as a way to not only promote their abilities but also a chance to further study mental disorders with willing subjects and hopefully find cures or successful treatment to make the sufferers' lives easier. Regretfully there was still the stigmata over receiving said mental help on the civilian side. Hence many civilians thought that only the shinobi truly need it giving that nature of their profession. Still in the Sarutobi's mind having made psych care and evaluations mandatory on a set schedule had been a good decision when he saw the suicide rate for active and retired veterans drop sharply. They still happened regretfully but it was nowhere near to how it was years prior. Plus, this decree also helped people like Iruka overcome some past traumas.

'_Another example could be the young Sasuke-kun. The things that boy saw that night left him as nothing but an empty shell that was slowly being filled by hate. Thankfully with some work, we managed to tame some of it. The boy can't seem to make friends yet but at least he doesn't seem repulsed by the idea. Hopefully, by the time he becomes a genin or during it he'll at least learn to trust his team and work with them._' the kage thought as once more his mind returned to the horrible night. '_Dammit, Danzo. All of this could have been avoided if you just let me talk peacefully with the clan!_'

"Sandaime-sama, Boar has just reported that Uzumaki-san has once more disappeared from her home but this time she was accompanied by her chunin instructor," Falcon informed after having received the report from the radio in their ear.

"Are you sure about?" another voice on the ceiling questioned.

"After all of these years, we've learned not to joke around when it comes to the orange manse's disappearing acts, Neko-san," Falco commented while looking up. In response, the purple-haired cat ANBU landed on the floor.

"I wasn't talking to you Falcon-san. I was talking to Chameleon who just informed me that that Naruko and a dizzy Umino-san appeared in front of the building in a gust of wind." Neko told while walked to the window behind the Kage and pointed to the small blonde. Sure, enough when both men looked down, they saw the girl there laughing at her teacher that seemed about to puke his soul out.

'_Impossible! Even with the Body flicker jutsu the distance between here and Naruko's apartment is too large. Could the rumor that she recreated an elemental version of the technique is true. No, even elemental versions do not change the maximum distance of the technique._' the God of Shinobi though as he analyzed this new information. '_Unless… Could it be she recreated Minato's Hiraishin?! But the description said she appeared in a gust of wind not a flash of light. Could this mean that she somehow managed to change the element of the technique? But that still doesn't take into account the anchor needed to form a destination point and not once have I been informed of Naruko practicing seals nor learning about their formulas. Just what is happening to you Naruko-chan?_'

However, the thoughts of the old shinobi were soon interrupted by his secretary who informed him that the girl in question was there to see him. On a whim, he told Falcon and Neko to stay visible by his side. Then he told Osaka-san to let the academy and teacher in. The woman agreed without a problem and soon he was seeing the small troublemaker in front of this desk. Thankfully this time it wasn't because she was in trouble as far as he knew.

"Hello, Jiji! I hope those papers aren't still getting the better of you." Naruko greeted with a grin.

"Just wait until you're on this side of the desk and let's see who makes jokes you little brat." the grandfather quickly muttered in annoyance. Thankfully only the ANBU at his side managed to hear him and their training helped them not burst out laughing. "Don't worry Naruko-chan, there is still fight in this old bone. Anyway, what brings you and your teacher here? Anything to do with the disappearing act to did this morning perhaps?"

"In a way yeah." the whiskered girl answered with an embarrassed chuckle as she scratched the back of her head. "You see I kind of develop some new abilities. That teleportation I did is part of it alongside the healing jutsu I used on Ming-Ming and a few more that you'll find very interesting."

"Now? Would some of these new abilities be the sensor jutsu I felt you use in the Mint Lily?" the old shinobi asked with an intrigued smile.

"You could feel me use **Scan**?" the Uzumaki asked in confusion. As soon as she finished that question said skill activated. "Whoa, I forgot that was also voice-activated." the girl added as she blinked at the sudden discomfort of the technique activating against her will.

"What could you feel out, Naruko-chan?" the aged soldier inquired while taking note of the way the small blonde described the activation of the technique. '_Strange that it would activate by sound. Then again new sensors type can't control when their ability activates. No matter, proper training will let her control it soon enough._'

"Well, for starters I can see the outline of the ANBU hidden in the bookshelf to your right." the blonde commented while pointing at said area. Not a second after she said that Falcon, Neko and another ANBU appeared stabbing the mouth, neck, and heart of the hidden person. After which bloodstains appear in midair before the cloaking jutsu was canceled. Then in one smooth move, the bodyguards pulled out their weapons from the dead body, clad in similar clothing to their uniform, and sealed the corpse into a large scroll. After which the third leaf shadow excused themselves to deliver the body to be investigated. The whole process didn't take more than a couple of seconds and even with Gamer Mind active it left the academy slight shaken "T-T-That was an enemy ninja, right?"

"Yes, they've been here since your exit from the academy. We hadn't done anything to them to fool them into thinking we hadn't noticed them. ***chuckle*** You have no idea how easy it is to feed false information to someone spying on you that don't know they've been made. But since a novice sensor-type like you could detect them all our covers were blown and we had to act fast or the enemy would escape." Hiruzen informed in a tune that didn't hide how common this situation had become for him.

"Wouldn't you have gotten more information out of them have you captured them?" Naruko inquired in a calmer voice. '_If it had not been for this bloodline I'm pretty sure I would have been in shock right now. Thank the Log their face was covered. I don't think I'm ready to see someone's light go off just yet._' she thought with a small shiver that was noticed by all the adults. Iruka once more patted her head reassuringly and told her they could talk about what she saw just now later.

"Probably not from that one." the leader replied with a small frown already knowing that Danzo more than likely had a contingency for such a situation. But he quickly changes the subject to help distract the girl from. the more than likely, first person ever killed in front of her. "Now you said that was the first thing you notice. What was the other?"

"Oh! It those magical sigils on your window and the chakra infused crystal ball on the shelf to your left." the academy student announced while pointing at both directions.

"You can feel the seals on the window?" the Sandaime asked in surprise. '_This is incredible! Not even the best of sensors can detect seals unless they're activated. Plus, Jiraya made those strengthening seals, especially so they couldn't be detected. Just how sensitive are Naruko-chan's sensory abilities?_'

"What do you mean feel them?" Naruko asked after finally noticing the phasing of the question. At the same time, both Iruka and Benihime noticed this as well and quickly explained it to her. After making a small "Oh" sound the girl giggled and grinned at the leader. "No Jiji, I can't feel them. I _see_ them," she announced while pointing at her eyes.

"Come again?" the Sarutobi asked flatly before putting chakra in his eyes to look closer at the Uzumaki's own. At first instance nothing seemed to be different then he had to blink to make sure he was seeing right. It was almost unnoticeable but if you looked directly into those blue eyes you could see very small light blue squares moving and breaking inside the pupils and irises. "Naruko-chan…" he gasped in surprise while leaning back in his chair. "Is this a jutsu you created or a dojutsu that suddenly manifested?"

"What's a dojutsu?" the academy question in confusion. The question earned her a fist landing on her head. She felt every bit of those lost 25HP.

"That's what happens when you don't pay attention in class." Iruka reprimanded before explaining "A dojutsu is bloodline limit that manifests in the user's eyes like the Uchiha's Sharingan or the Hyuga's Byakugan."

"Oh, you mean like that idiot Neji's perverted eyes that he used to look through my clothes." the whiskered girl commented while massaging the new bump on her head with one hand as her other arm covered her chest. It was only by pure practice and force of will that she didn't smirk when she saw both men had the desired reaction of anger plastered over their faces. Hey, she already knew that was a petty and dirty move but if she couldn't beat manners into him someone else had to! Thankfully Iruka was the first to recover from the sudden bout of parental anger.

"Let's file this information for later and turn back to what we came here for." the scared chunin announced while turning to the villager leader. "Sandaime-sama, while at first glance it may look as if academy student Naruko Uzumaki possess a dojutsu I can assure you that it is far more than that. If I were to classify it… I would say that the Gamer Soul is a reality manipulating bloodline."

The God of Shinobi and praised as one of the strongest and most knowledgeable people in this world could already feel the mother of all headaches forming at that description.

"You can never make things easy for me can Naruko-chan?" Hiruzen questioned in a defeated tone.

Naruko just grinned in response.


	7. Teaching can go both ways (II)

**Chapter 7: Teaching can go both ways (Part II)**

It was already Wednesday as Naruko exited her apartment before the sun was even up so she could start Gai-sensei's, clearly, insane morning workout. After the needed stretches and warm-ups the girl started the long jug. During this run she let her mind wander back to the night before last when Iruka and she explained to the Hokage about the Gamer Soul.

Like she had done with the scarred chunin she had asked the Kage to be a party member and even included Falcon and Neko so everyone would be on the same page. Then they repeated the process of showing the videos Benihime had taken of their adventure while explaining how Gamer Soul worked. Unlike Iruka whoever, Hiruzen asked a lot of questions during the video. Some of these being: How were these dungeons created? Was the variety of creatures determined by the dungeon? What determined the power of the beasts inside them? How could Naruko create techniques like those on the fly or learn them by leveling up? And many more which the fairy tried to answer as best she could.

Regretfully it was during these questions Naruko learned that the system did not want her to know the mechanics behind a lot of those answers. Worst was that it wasn't even trying to be subtle about it because as soon as some of the more technical information was said all the Uzumaki could hear was harsh static. Then for added measure no matter how much she wanted it or will herself into doing it her eyes were simply unable to focus on their mouth to see if she could try and read their lips. Getting frustrated quickly Naruko had informed her party members about this which unlike the fairy could the adult by surprise since neither had that problem. With that realization fresh in their minds they asked Benihime why this was happening which she just answered.

"Normally the player avatar doesn't know they're in a game. Therefore, why should they know how the code making up their world works?"

Then to prove her point the diminutive redhead had asked Iruka to write any of the mechanics down on paper and hand it to the whiskered girl. The man did so and when the Uzumaki's eyes landed on the words these became pixelated before falling off the paper onto the ground where they shattered into nothingness. After that Naruko could only frown and crosses her arms as the adults talked over the technicalities she couldn't understand. Thankfully that didn't last long as Benihime goes on to explain the party system.

The information had been similar to the one given to Iruka-sensei but with two distinctions. The first being that the fairy clarified that everyone in the party, which had a max capacity of 8, would gain the same amount of XP and money so long as they were in battle. That meant that if say they killed an enemy that gave 100XP and 100copper then everyone gets both sums. This way the money and experience would not have to be shared among them in equal shares or by contribution to the fight. The second new piece of information had been that while experience and money were shared by the party members all items went to the leader, i.e. Naruko since she was the one considered the player character.

After that, the village leader asked for a possible demonstration of a skill gained through the system. When asked if it could be one that can be used outside of battle he agreed. Thinking this was a good chance to practice crafting the Uzumaki decided to pull out her portable forge which surprised the adults. Sure, the video had shown that the girl could materialize items but they thought that was relegated to her weapon or small items, not something almost as big as her. Then came the real surprise for them came when the whiskered girl threw in five rat tails and proceeded to hammer out a whip from the molten material.

* * *

**Rat Lasso [Lv1] |Common| ~ Main Weapon ~**

Description – A leather whip created from the tails of giant rats. As a memento of where the materials came from the handle is in the shape of a rat with the tail being the weapon. Careful though, due to the magical way this weapon has been created the taint of the animal now resides in the tip of this whip.

+5ATK

1% of causing **Poison** status

* * *

Next, the gamer had shown off the shop by buying Hiruzen a new pipe with a bowl in the shape of a smiling monkey. That had gotten a laugh out the old kage as he accepted the gift. In return, he had given her as a reward a pardon for skipping school the next day. Yet before she could celebrate, he told her that it was because she would spend the day taking tests in the hospital to make sure this new bloodline limit wasn't negatively affecting her body. Thankfully that had reminded the whiskered blonde one of the reasons why she had agreed to talk with the Hokage. Boy, had that been a fun and revealing conversation.

_| Flashback ~ Start ~|_

"Hey, Jiji. When were you going to tell me that I have demon chakra?" Naruko asked to the surprise of the leader and his bodyguards.

"What are you talking about, Naruko-chan?" Hiruzen questioned back almost on reflex and showing he had not been ready for that inquiry.

"Oh, don't you dare fake ignorance about this!" the blonde accused with a pointing finger at the old man. "It may have been for a moment but I have proof of it right here!" she announced and with a snap of her fingers Benihime produce the image of the whiskered girl's demonic transformation. Even Iruka was taken aback at the sight of those red-slit eyes and pronounced whisker marks. "That chakra is fueled by my anger and today I was by far the most enrage I've ever been. If it hadn't been for my new bloodline having a calming feature I could have turned into a wild beast and torn apart that fool Goro to shreds!"

"Naruko-chan, I understand that you're upset and mistakes were made but I was thinking of your's and the village's safety." the Hokage replied but the glare he got in return told him that was the worst thing he could have said.

"Am I supposed to take that as an apology for the way this village has treated me?" Naruko asked with an intense stare. To her side, she could see Iruka about to say something and she quickly lifts a finger to silence him. "I know what you're going to say Iruka-sensei but please let me speak first." Thankfully the chunin seemed to understand and backdown which let the Uzumaki take a calming breath to center herself for what was about to come. Then she looked at the man that had been like a grandfather to her all of these years and made sure her eyes conveyed her anger, frustration, and betrayal she was currently feeling.

"Sandaime-sama," the whiskered girl started and almost relished in the fact that using the title cause a hurt look to briefly pass by the old man's face. "During my short life I have experience: 1) what it's like to go to bed hungry without ever eating anything for days, 2) the hatred of people you don't even know, 3) the coldness of sleeping in the streets during winter, 4) the indignity of having to scavenge food out of trash, 5) a near-death at the hands of a drugged up mugger who stabbed me in a dark alley, and so many more things."

The Uzumaki recounted as her mind played back each one of those events again and again to her like a broken record. Still, she noticed that each added experienced seemed to act like a punch in the face for each adult. Even the two remaining ANBU seem to start showing that they were getting uncomfortable with the truth. This, however, didn't bring her any satisfaction as she could already feel the burning sting of unshed tears. That, however, did not stop her from continuing with releasing all of the frustration she had been building up. The proverbial dam had finally opened its doors and it was not about to close.

"Do any of you even know how it's like growing up with people telling you since you could make memories that you're all alone in this world because you're a monster that doesn't deserve love? Because I do and you have no idea just how easy it is to believe that is during those lonely nights in that empty apartment, I call home." the girl announced without an ounce of regret for the tears now freely flowing down her face. Benihme tried to alleviate the whisker girl's pain by hugging the girl's neck. This only made the Uzumaki give a miserable sounding laugh. "Looking back on it now everyone in this village is incredibly lucky," Naruko commented while slowly stroking the fairy's back. "All it would have taken was a day like today before I got this power and I could have become the very monster everyone said I was," she added while remembering the many times she had been so close to losing it before the years.

So many times, she had wanted to just let go and truly strike back against the people that treated her like trash. She could already feel the hot flashes of anger at the memory of the harlot of an orphanage owner punishing her for just trying to get something to eat for the first time in a week, getting thrown out of said orphanage because she "lowered the sales value", and then lets not forget all of the store owners that kicked her out for what seemed like sports or principle.

"So, tell me now Hokage-sama." the blonde growled out while glaring at the old man who seemed to have age another decade in this hour alone. "Why was my demonic nature allowed to fester unchecked? Why was I not warned of it before and instead I had to learn it from a quest born out my hate? Dammit! Didn't you think it would have been better in the long run that training me on how to use that chakra was better instead of hoping I never had to use it!" she shouted in frustration as her eyes shifted into purple with hints of red. "Or what? Were you thinking that I could handle all of that abuse and not fight back at some point?" she accused with a near growl as her entire body started to shake from the buildup of negative emotion. Unbeknownst to the girl, her hair was already thrashing about in the form of nine angry tails. What she did notice, however, was the sudden silence that fell on the room as the adults refused to look at her. Then her eyes widen at the realization of how close she must have been to the truth.

"Oh, dear Log… You were…" Naruko stuttered as her body began to spark with red chakra. Try as she might, she felt the rage just would not stop ramming at full force until it finally exploded. "**WHAT THE HELL JIJI?!**" the girl screamed with all of her power.

In conjunction with this, her body let loose a blast of red chakra that became a shockwave which hammered everything in the room. Be it, man, woman, chairs, books, papers or shelves everything was forced out of their resting position. The adults and furnisher were pushed back, the shelves had their content shaken out, papers flew about and the sealed reinforce walls and windows cracked under the strain of the power. Yet as they looked on to the center of this maelstrom all the adults could see was a small crying girl whose facial features were now much more feral as the wind of her power chaotically moved her jacket. Somehow her more demonic expression seems to emphasize just how betrayed and in despair she was.

"Do you have any idea** how lucky you ****are**, I managed to find people like Ichiraku-san, Ayame-nee, Tenten-oneechan, and Iruka-sensei!? If it hadn't been for them, **I could have gone berserk by now and you would have had to probably deal with mini-kyubi!**" the demonic child accused loudly as red chakra was swirling around her in wisps.

"You're wrong about that last part." Hiruzen finally answered with his age showing in a sad and tired tone. "It would have been far worse. After all, an out of jinchurikies are always worse than the beast sealed in them." the leader confessed to the hurt child.

"**Beast sealed in them? What do you mean-**" the girl started as she tried to understand what he had just said to her. The haze of fury as making things incredibly difficult for her to analyze things right now. Not to mention the Uzumaki's mental state was not in the calmest of positions do to remembering the worst points of her life. Plus, what in the hell did jinchurikies or sealed beast in them had to do with this? She was talking about the demonic energy inside her because of the day she was born not about the demon that attacked the village!

Then it finally clicked what the Hokage meant.

"The Kyubi no Yoko is sealed in me?" Naruko could be heard whispering in disbelieve. It was as if a switch had been flipped as all the power just left her as if it was never there, to begin with. Then her body started shivering as a sudden cold equal to a being thrown into a frozen river. Not a second later her legs failed as she nearly fell back is not for Iruka's acting quickly and catching her. Yet his warm body could do nothing to stop the cold dread or her now haunted look. The kage for his part saw what looked to be his now broken granddaughter and not for the first time cursed his inability to fulfill the Yondaime's final wish.

"Yes, Naruko-chan. The Yondaime alongside your mother Kushina-chan fought against that monster on that terrible night. They gave it their all but sensing its fate the Kyubi attacked you to stop Minato-kun from sealing it once more." Hiruzen said as his mind returned to that tragic night which uprooted the lives of everyone in the village. He took a calming breath to try and stop his aching heart before exhaling to inform the people of what happened the night of the Kyubi attack twelve years ago.

"The time of your birth was one of this village most guarded secrets because the time when a female jinchuriki goes into labor is when their seal is at its weakest. Yes, Naruko-chan, your mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was the previous holder of the Kyubi no Yoko before you though not many knew of this. Knowing the danger, you and your mother were in Minato-kun, his student Kakashi Hatake and I tried everything to keep the place you would be born in a secret plus we gather some of our best ANBU to guard said location.

Yet somehow a man in a white mask with a single eye hole found this location. In a matter of moments, he managed to break through the barrier jutsu around the area, dispatched the elite ANBU guarding your mother, killed my beloved wife Biwako who was the acting doctor, held you who was not even a minute old as a hostage, ripped the Kyubi out of your mother's stomach and sent the monster to attack the village. After that, it was utter chaos as the Kyubi started its assault our unsuspecting village in what was just a few moments ago a tranquil night. The Yondaime quick thinking as always managed to use the Hiraishin no Jutsu to rescue both of your mother and you.

Then Minato stops the first attack of the tail-beast by transporting the chakra sphere away from the village. Then he went to fight this masked man who seemed to be able to control the Kyubi. I still don't know whoever this masked man was but it didn't seem he put much of a fight before Minato-kun forced him to retreat. The shinobi forces and I had barely even started countering the demon fox before the Yondaime came back on top of Gamabunta-sama to fight the monster. Somehow Minato-kun managed to teleport the Kyubi after away from the village so that he could defeat it. However, it has been largely documented from the many failed attempts in the past with the other 8 tails beasts that they cannot be killed only sealed.

Thus, with a heavy heart Minato-kun choose to sacrifice himself using the **Reaper Death Seal** to slit the demon in half while sealing the other half in you using the **Eight Trigram Seal**. That's the spiral tattoo that appears on your navel when you use or mold chakra. However, the last thing Kushina-chan wanted for you was to become a jinchuriki like she was. Thus, your mother, ever the fighter, tried to use her **Adamantine Sealing Chains** to force the Kyubi back into herself even if it was the last thing she would do. Regretfully a jinchuriki usually dies after their tail-beast has been taken from them but your mother remained just barely because of how stubborn she tended to be.

However, due to the combination of your mother being at death's door and having given birth to you moments prior meant she didn't have enough strength to seal the demon back in her. The Kyubi knew this and also noticed what Minato-kun was going to do so in a last-ditch effort to stop it the beast attacked you in the hopes of killing its new vessel. Your mother even weakened to near death from both giving births to you just minutes prior and having the Kyubi ripped out of her still had enough strength to throw herself in front of the attack that would have easily killed you. As for Minato-kun, he did the same because he was not about to just let Kushina-chan kill herself if he could have stopped it. They succeeded in stopping your murder but at the cost of their own. With time nipping at their heels and know that nothing else would stop the newly freed Kyubi no Yoko they used the last bits of their life to seal it away inside you.

Their final wish or I should say the Yodaimes's was for you to be seen as the savior of this village for the burden placed on you. Foolishly, because I blindly trusted this village, after that night I presented you to the civilian side of the council as such but they asked for your death almost immediately. Thankfully as the now reinstated Hokage, I had the final say and shot them down just as quickly. Then I enacted two laws: (1) one would make it forbidden for anyone but you and I to talk about your status as a jinchuriki and (2) two that it would be a crime punishable by death to try and kill you. Yet by what you've told us that wasn't anywhere near enough to keep you safe for the worst humanity has to offer. For that, I am truly sorry not just for me or this village but for every hardship you will still face living here. I know I can't be forgiven for failing you so utterly but at least know that I will do what I can to help you."

Once the Hokage finished retelling the true story of Naruko's birth she just sat on the chair long since provided by one of the ANBU. How many nights had she stayed up later wondering why she was alone? How many times had she opened that door to envisioned that empty house with a mother and father waiting for her after school was done? Just how many times did she wonder if she had done something in a previous life for the gods to deal with her such a bad hand?

Now at least she knew there was a reason. But that didn't help her much as she didn't know who that masked man who ruined her life was. Therefore, there was no face for her to direct her anger. Not that she could muster any anger right now as all she felt was exhaustion. Between the yelling, crying, baring her soul, accessing the Kyubi's chakra and finally hearing the story of her birth she was emotionally spent. She didn't even have it in her to blame the old leader for his mistakes. Even Iruka-sensei sitting by her while regularly squeezing her hand reassuringly while Benhime hugged her neck she did speak for several minutes.

"Did she love me?" Naruko finally whispered though everyone could hear her. "Did Kushina-san love me?" she asked again but never lifted her tear-stained face.

"She called you her greatest treasure. And I'm more than sure that had she lived Kushina-chan would have loved every moment she got being your mother." Hiruzen answered with a small smile at the memory for the woman. "Naruko-chan, I understand that in no way is this an apology for all that you have suffered nor am I asking for your forgiveness. But I promise you that from now on I will try to make it up to you."

"Just… Just tell me about her."

_| Flashback ~ End ~|_

That night had been an emotional roller coaster for everyone present and if she was telling the truth the Uzumaki still felt raw about the whole affair.

Still, after the revelation, the Hokage told her a few things about her mother. First, one being that like her Kushina loved ramen to the point she almost exclusively ate it during the pregnancy. The Uzumaki also learned that her mother was part of a clan that was thought to be eradicated to the last during the last Great Shinobi War. Which meant as far as he knew Naruko was the last Uzumaki alive. However, after a couple of stories about the last Uzumaki matriarch, the Kage told the student and teacher that it was best for them to go rest for the night. Iruka agrees and Naruko didn't have the energy to fight or move for that matter so she let the man carry her. When they got home, she didn't know since she had fallen asleep in his arms as soon as he lifted her and they got out of the building. What she did know was that when she woke up the next day her sensei was sleeping in a chair by the foot of her bed and there was a letter by her nightstand.

After she and the fairy woke up the teacher, he read the letter. Turned out it was instructions from the Hokage for Naruko to go to the hospital and get a full body checkup under the escort of Neko. The girl didn't like that one bit but Iruka-sensei ever the mother hen reasoned that it was for the better since they could see if there had been any other negatives to having gained the Gamer Soul. Thus, this was the reason why she lost another day of training. Worst was that after all of the physical tests from muscle and reflex to blood, urine and scat all they got was that she was a normal child. The only strange thing was she possessed the strength, resistance, and reflex of kid that was between her first or second years in the ninja academy not someone in their last year. That was not new considering they already knew about the girl becoming weaker.

Still, at the end of all of the tests, she did get a reward. This reward turned out to be a picture of her mother that the Hokage had found after looking inside one of the security vaults. Funny enough the picture was of the stunningly beautiful redhead grinning as she gave the victory sign while holding the first-place trophy for a ramen eating contests. Also, to her left was what looked like an unconscious spiky-haired blond male with a face inside a bowl. Then to her mother's right was an older male with long spiky white hair and her facial markings who was also knocked up but with his head was slightly leaned back and foaming in the mouth. At the back of the picture, Benihime read for her, "The undisputed Ramen Queen of the Fire Nation, Kushina Uzumaki!"

Naruko had genuinely laughed at that.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X

Hinata was getting nervous, no scratch that, she already was. Try as she might the Hyuga hadn't seen her favorite blonde since the training match on Monday. Then after school she searched all over for the Uzumaki in the blonde's favorite areas but there wasn't even a hair of evidence to signal that the girl had been there. Not even the kind Ichiraku-san and his daughter had seen their favorite customer which was by itself terrifying.

Then when she got home that night for one of the first times in a long while, she got angry. The reason being when she learned what had happened between Naruko and Neji.

| _Flashback ~Start~ _|

_CRACK_

"You did what?" A growl was heard asking.

At these unexpected sounds Hiashi, Hanabi and Neji all turned to see something neither thought possible. After all, they had never seen the sweet, gentle and quiet Hinata using her Byakugan at full force to glare at someone. Come to think about, they had never seen the girl glare before either. They also noticed the white-knuckle grip she had on chopsticks that looked to have slit the porcelain plate in half. Neji knowing that both the glare and question were directed at him could only blink like an owl. Even though his calm face didn't show it the minuscule gulp he made did show he felt uncomfortable with the situation.

"Neji-niisan, never use your Byakugan like that again." Hinata had ordered in the hashes tone anyone had ever heard from her before excusing herself from the table.

| _Flashback ~End~ _|

The Hyuga princess blushed at the memory of that night. She just couldn't help but get angry at Neji-niisan for using their family's sacred all-seeing eyes for something so perverse! Didn't the clan already have a law forbidding that exact act?!

_'How dare he do that?! How could he just use the Bakugan to stare at her wonderful legs with such soft yet firm tights, those shapely abbs, and that supple chest?_' Hinata thought with a glare. It took all of three seconds for her to realize how her though had described the Uzumaki. Not a second later she burst into a near-atomic blush that she could only hide by slamming her face down on the desk and having the hoodie of her jacket cover the rest of her head. _'What's happening to me? Why do I keep thinking of Naruko-kun like this? I am not a boy!_' the Hyuga princess thought in distress. It was so confusing to her just how easy it was for her mind to compliment the whiskered girl. Be it the girl's energy, the refusal to back down or her tantalizing body it felt natural for her mind to praise the small bombshell. Then Hinata's blush did because radioactive when she noticed she had used "tantalizing" and "bombshell" to describe her classmate.

_'This is all you fault Neji!_' she screams internally trying to blame someone for what she was currently feeling. Here she had been feeling worried because she hadn't seen the girl and her brain was doing weird things!

Then to her slight relief, the subject of those thoughts finally walked into the room as if nothing had happened. Well, those blue-eyes did look somewhat sleep-deprived but given yesterday Iruka-sensei had said the girl was in the hospital it was to be expected. Nonetheless, it was a relief to once more see the girl who seemed to think Hinata's wondering eyes were an invitation as the small blonde gave a soft smile and started walking towards her.

_'Wow, she looks so great…_' Hinata thought while slightly biting her lip before she even realized it.

"Why are you still here, Dead Last?" the classroom heard the bully Goro question.

"Sorry, you must have at least one point invested in personality if you want to talk to this character," Naruko responded with a voice that somehow managed to sound very mechanical. That seemed to anger the bully as he threw more insults at the girl who didn't even acknowledge him. Hinata, for her part, stared in awe with the control the normally hot-tempered Uzumaki now had. Then the bluenette notice Goro's hand enter his ninja pouch and her eyes widen. Naruko noticed her friend's surprised look and followed the Hyuga's eyes to find what she was looking at. There she saw the fool Goro with something in his hand that she couldn't make out before he threw it. Next thing she knew someone pulled her forward hard. Quickly recognizing the feeling of falling she knew the person that tried to save her had slipped. Knowing from experience how painful it was to land on the stairs the Uzumaki's instincts worked overtime. The first thing she did was throw an arm around the person and push them onto her chest. then with all of the momentum that her body could provide she spun them to her left. At the same time, she summoned her scythe and slammed it into the wall to stop them from falling.

"Phew. That was certainly something," Naruko sighed with a lazy smirked after successfully averting the fall. Then jinchuriki looked at the position she and her helper found themselves in. A slight blush dusted her cheeks but the smirk only seemed to get stronger. "You know? There are far easier ways to cop a feel, Hinata-chan."

Hearing those words made Hinata blink in confusion. One moment she was pulling Naruko to safety and the next their bodies were spun around like a top before stopping abruptly. Therefore it took her a second or two to get her bearing and looked where she was. Thankfully both of her hands helped with the "looking" part. They "helped" by way of her right hand groping one part of the Uzumaki's chest while her face was buried in the other. Then her left hand was grabbing a set, in her opinion, perfectly firm glutes while both her legs had snaked around a leg from the girl she had tried to save. Once her traitorous hands gave some noticeable squeeze the bluenette bolted away with speed rivaling that of a **Body Flicker Jutsu**. The sudden missing weight almost causes Naruko to fall flat on her face. Thankfully between the grip of her scythe and Benihime pushing, she managed to regain her balance. After that, the whiskered preteen pushed herself back to her feet and glared a Goro's direction.

Their eyes met and she was about to yell when she noticed the dangling rope behind the boy. It made her raise an eyebrow in confusion which the boy may have taken it as something else as he smirked. Kiba, who had almost been cut by the thrown kunai, was in the process of cursing at the bully when the rope snapped tautly. Next thing everyone knew Goro was slammed headfirst into the empty chair that would have been to his right had he been sitting. The sound that came out from the impact was an ugly crack and once the body started being lifted into the ceiling the students could see blood dripping from the unconscious boy's forehead. In morbid silence, the classroom just stared as the unconscious bully was lifted into the open hash on the ceiling where he disappeared along with the opening.

"Guess that's the end of his and his father's ninja careers. But that's what happens to traitors," a nonchalant voice said behind the Uzumaki and Hyuga. Every student jumped at the sound of this new voice and turned to the source to find an ANBU.

"Lizard-san, don't scare us like that!" Naruko shouted with a small glare before she turned back to pull her scythe out of the wall. Thankfully it didn't take much strength to do so and she quickly stored it back into its ring form. She did, however, take note that the wall glowed briefly and the gash she made with the weapon was gone. '_Okay, that's cool. I wonder: what did it?_'

"It's Gecko, actually. Lizard is my senpai," the reptile mask ninja commented and no one could tell if he was joking or not. "Anyway, here the Hokage gave me an order that this must be delivered to you."

With that, he handed the student a scroll which she accepted and opened while leaning on the wall. This way some of the more curious classmates would not see the content. That turned out to be a good idea as it was a letter asking her to meet him on this Friday after school so they could open a dungeon and he could see how these work up close. The letter also mentioned that there would be a jonin named Kakashi Hatake present as well.

{Kakashi Hatake? Isn't that the student of the Yondaime the Hokage mentioned during his retailing? Maybe this Hatake-san knows about the seal containing the Kyubi and his there to see if nothing is wrong with it?} the fairy inquired through the radio at her mistress who answered with a "probably" since she had come to the same conclusion. Then Naruko was about to confirm this when her eyes briefly passed over Hinata. The bluenette was a little weird with all the blushing and let's not forget how the girl groped her just a few moments ago. Yet for some reason that just made the lavender-eyed cutie more intriguing. Then there was the bonus of the girl being related to that pervert Neji which meant if recruited/corrupted the girl would be invaluable in the long-term plan for making him pay.

"Tell the Hokage I agree, Gecko-san. But only if he agrees to write and sends a letter of joined training to the Hyuga clan for one Hinaya Hyuga." said the Trickster Queen to the ANBU. What the small queen didn't know was that during this confirmation she had been sending a very calculating smirk at Hyuga princess. The princess for her part felt an excited shiver run down her spine at seeing that smirk.

_'W-W-Why does she m-m-make me feel l-l-like this?_' Hinata thought while poking her fingers shyly. Gecko just shrugged at the exchange he saw between the girls and confirmed he would tell the kage before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Hey, why should he care about the social lives of two preteen kunoichis? Plus, there was a nice A-rank completion reward for him after finishing this delivery. Still, the exchange between these three was seen by all the students that were not still in shock from seeing one of their classmates being taken out in such a matter. Among these were Sasuke and Ino who were both frowning or glaring. In the former's case, he frowning as he wondered what kind of pull did the supposed dead last have to make such a demand to the Hokage and by extension the Hyuga clan with the security that it would happen. The latter, however, had other reasons for glaring.

_'Just what are you planning Naruko Uzumaki? Whatever it is I'm gonna find out and hopefully save Hinata-chan from all the trouble that you make!_' Ino swore before smirking as a devious idea popped in her head. _'O~hohoho, I could use this moment to find out what tricks Naruko has that could help Sasuke-kun! That way he'll see that I'm way better than Billboard-Brow!_'

To her side, Shikamaru could be heard muttering "Troublesome blonde" as he tried to catch-up on his sleep. There was no way he was going to stop the girl from doing anything she was planning to do. He has known the princess since they've been in diapers and he has learned to not mess with her when she broke out the _Noblewoman's Laugh_.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X

(Later that night)

(Hyuga clan compound)

Hinata walked out in amazement out of her father's study.

She didn't know how it was possible but Naruko had somehow managed to get the Hokage to write an officially signed and stamped letter that was sent to clan head directly. The man had read it and sent for her immediately where she learned the content of it. The letter was indeed a request for Hinata to accompany the Hokage and an unnamed student for a training venture. This letter also explained that they needed a Hyuga because the Byakugan would be a perfect tool to measure the student's control over their chakra and since Hinata was around their age the student would feel more at ease performing than with adults judging them. Plus, since the first daughter was the heiress this would also help prove the Hyuga's prowess to this new potential ally. Thus, her father had instructed her to not fail this as it may show the elders she still had value. Hinata had quickly accepted the responsibility and excused herself to prepare for the weekend.

'_I don't know how you did it, but I will not fail you, Naruko-kun!_' Hiashi's first-born declared to herself with a fire few people thought possible of the timid wallflower.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X

(Friday after school)

(Outside of the Ninja Academy)

Thursday and most of today have passed by without a problem. Well, that was a half lie as today they were informed the Goro would no longer be part of the class given his willingness to attack a fellow citizen of the village with a deadly weapon. Naruko celebrated that internally though she did hear rumors of some of the bully's victims were throwing a party later. It would be a shame not going to it but right now she had more pressing matters like waiting for her training partner to meet her below the tree with the swing.

{Nervous about your date?} Benihime asked with a grin much to the confusion of the adventurer.

However, before she could answer three people showed themselves. Two of them were Hinata and Ino, for some reason, while the third was someone new to her. For starters, this adult woman looked to be the definitive example of beauty for a kunoichi. It didn't even matter her dress looked like it was made of bandages on top of at red single sleeve blouse since that seem to accentuate all the right curves in a tantalizing but conservative matter. This woman had a pair of mesmerizing red eyes that fairy confirmed were natural but also extremely rare for a non-albino. Then there was her long wild black hair that gave the "I still look sexy without brushing" look. To finish her look this kunoichi wore red lipstick and purple eyeshadow that went perfectly with her unique eye color. All in all, Naruko couldn't stop the pink from dusting her cheeks at the slight of the woman. The adult seems to notice she was being checked out because she softly chuckled and introduced herself.

"Hello there, I am Kurenai Yuhi a jonin assigned as Hinata-chan's guardian by Hyuga-sama. It is a pleasure to finally meet you Naruko Uzumaki." Kurenai said with an extended hand and a friendly smile. Unable to talk the Uzumaki just shook hands and nodded in affirmation. This earned her a giggle from the Yamanaka who she glared at.

"What are you doing here, Violet?"

"Oh, nothing much, Pumpkin," Ino answered with a smile. Then eyes sparkled as her smile grew and her voice because innocent. Then she crossed her fingers below her chin and tilted her head to the side. "I just wanted to see if you would let me join you?" she asked with a sickly-sweet voice.

…

…

…

"Ino, we both know that fake cute sounding voice and look is not going to work on me." the whiskered student responded with a frown.

"Really? That's strange because it worked last week when I got you to buy me that popsicle." the second blonde commented with a confused look. That commented cause the gamer to blush in embarrassment.

"I'm a different person from the person I was a week ago." Even after saying this with crossed arms the blush for the old shame remained.

"Clearly," the mind walker muttered with a frown at that strategy not working. Then she smirked victoriously and said: "I'm still going anyway."

"And why would I let you?" Naruko asked before Ino pulled out a scroll from her ninja pouch. Then the fangirl opened the scroll on the ground and summoned the item seal in it. Once the smoke cleared the women saw that it was a Jumbo Supreme Deluxe bowl of miso chashu pork ramen for Ichiraku. In other words, a bowl of ramen big enough to hold five servings. "I _hate_ you."

"I'll take that as a yes then," proclaimed the Yamanaka with a grin. It may have cost a large amount of coin given this was the plate Ichiraku used in their food challenge but she knew it would have easily won over the Uzumaki no problem. Plus, hearing that declaration while the small girl struggled so as not to become a drooling mess was music to her ears.

"No," the Uzumaki suddenly whispered but it was loud enough to nearly give both Hinata and Ino heart attacks. The idea of the girl reacting was an impossibility! "Not unless you swear under your title of Heiress of the Yamanaka Clan that you will not inform anyone in any way what you will see today." Okay, so that was a false alarm and the world was not ending today. Still, that stipulation was unexpected and thoughtful coming from the Uzumaki. If Ino agreed to it that meant her plan to tell Sasuke was already ruined. Ino may be many things but she was the heiress of a clan and knew very well there were things you just did not do. No one those things being breaking a contract bound by the honor of her clan or position. Then her quick thinking found a loophole in this contract. It would be a dirty tactic but shinobi were taught to never play fair if they could. Mama didn't raise no fool!

"Fine, I promise to not tell anyone about what I _see_ during this," she agreed after handing the once more sealed ramen at the hungry Uzumaki.

Only Kurenai managed to notice the small frown on Hinata's lips during the exchange. It made her chuckle internally as she saw her young ward experience jealousy over how easily the Yamanaka inserted herself into this outing. Still, she didn't want to keep the Hokage waiting so she remained the girls they need to get going. To her surprise, the Uzumaki took Hinata into a one-hug and told them to place one of their hands one of her shoulders. The two remaining women shrugged and did so. Both of them had heard the rumors that the girl could preform a wind variate of the **Body Flicker** and guess the girl needed at least a free hand to perform it. Then the _Trickster Smirk_ appeared on the whiskered girl's lips.

"Oh, and don't bother screaming because you wouldn't get a chance to."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X

(Moments before)

(Training ground #03)

Kakashi waited alongside the elder kage for the arrival of his teacher's daughter. Last night the leader had told him all that had transpired with the blonde jinchuriki while he was away in a month-long mission. Truth be told, he still couldn't believe half of it and the other half just seemed impossible. Sure, he hasn't lived as long as the old shinobi but he had seen his fair share of crazy over the years but this Gamer Soul bloodline limit just seemed to out of this world. Normally bloodline limits fell on one of three categories: dojutsus, nature manipulation or body mutations. Yet somehow this new power seemed to work like a combination of all three in some ways plus a reality-bending quality to it on top of it? Had the cyclops been younger he would have told the Hokage his had finally gone senile for letting the Uzumaki fool him so easily. Thankfully, for both his health and job, he had just said that he would believe this when he saw it. The smirk the kage threw at him ended up being the reason why he was now waiting for the kids to show up.

'_At least I can catch up with my reading,_' the jonin thought with a giggle. Of course, that was a lie because the new book in the Icha Icha book series wasn't out until next month and this was the 10th time he read this volume. _'Still, now that Naruko at least knows about her position as a container and part of her heritage I can start getting close to her._'

The Hatake still felt a sizable measure of anger whenever he thought of his failure when it came to protecting his sensei's daughter. First, it was because he was still too young and still dealing with the death of his teammates to even consider connecting with people let alone a newborn. So when Minato and Kushina both died he simply shut down and decided to throw himself into ANBU again and again to escape the pain instead of dealing with it. After that, some of his friends like Gai and Neko finally managed to pull him out of his depression enough for him to get the help he needed. There he realized all he could do now for the girl was guard her while in the shadows. Regretfully after the few years of therapy and getting some of his life together he noticed he had missed his chance as the girl now had Iruka.

The first time he realized this he had felt anger and jealousy at how the chunin had won over the blonde troublemaker. Thankfully those feelings did not last more than an hour or maybe less as he saw how happy the girl was with the scarred teacher in her life. It was with that thought in mind that he had thought to help get the teacher to adopt the girl. Then it was there when things really turned bad as he found out the girl's worst enemies. The first one being the Civilian Council that had made it almost impossible to legally adopt the girl through multiple obtuse or borderline illegal laws and procedures that one would need to navigate first. It was insane sure and a forest was probably cut down to make the paperwork but it could probably be done before the girl reached her 18th birthday. The real problem was one Danzo Shimura.

That old war hawk hadn't done anything yet in part because Hiruzen was fighting him tooth and nail. But Kakashi knew that the man had more than a few civilian council members in his pocket. So, the cyclops had no doubt that should someone had tried to adopt the girl Danzo would have swooped in and caught the girl first. Then the girl would most certainly be brainwashed and turned into a living weapon under his command only.

'_Knowing that bastard he would first dethrone the Hokage using Naruko to kill him. Then he would probably go for the Fire Daimyo to gain full control of the Fire Nation. After that, he probably declares a new Shinobi War so that he can take control of all of the elemental nations. There would be no peace for anyone,_' the masked jonin thought with some fear. He already lived through one war and he did not want another. This especially considering it could be one that ends with everyone dying because of a madman that didn't think twice about turning a small girl into the perfect unfeeling killing machine.

His thoughts on the end of the world were thankfully interrupted by a gust of wind. Then the jonin looked up from his book when he heard the Hokage say: "They're here." Kakashi raised an inquiring eyebrow at the woman and three girls he found in the center of the training ground. This was especially so when three out of the four women looked scared out of their wits while the last one was grinning up a storm.

"Mah, I thought I was only seeing Uzumaki-san and Hyuga-ojousama?" Kakashi inquired while closing his book. Kurenai may not have a snowball's chance in hell of taking it from him but he also didn't feel like proving it to her. Plus, she could be a good role model for the kunoichis in training and the last thing he wanted was to make them think jonin level kunoichis weren't strong.

"That was the plan," Hiruzen was heard saying before he approaches the kunoichis. "Welcome everyone! I hope the ride wasn't too rough on you. Iruka-kun told me Naruko-chan's method of travel is an experience."

Not a second after saying this he saw the two women holding onto the Uzumaki let go. Kurenai already used to the **Body Flicker** and trained in the weird effects genjutsu could cause was only looking a little green while putting a fist to her mouth. Little Ino however just fell on her butt and soon after on her back trembling while continuingly saying "I almost died," like a broken record. Hinata for her had chosen to bury her face on the whiskered girl's neck.

"Not sorry about that. As for the new guest? Well, Kurenai was sent to protect Hinata-chan and Yamanaka-san just talked her way in. Couldn't do anything about either," Naruko answered towards the only males.

{More like Ino bribed you with ramen and your will was too weak.} The Hokage heard Benihime say. After hearing the mandatory "Shut up!" from the embarrassed jinchuriki he chuckled.

"I do hope you at least made a deal with her before that? We are trying to keep this a secret for now, after all." Hiruzen inquired which the gamer nodded in affirmation.

Then she lightly kicked the Yamanaka which seemed to snap her out of the trauma the girl had just suffered. After that, they waited for the mind walker and Gentle Fist user to get their bearings. Once that was done the old kage asked the girls if they knew just how important it was to keep what they would see a secret. The leader even released a very small fraction of his power for them to know he was being serious. Hinata, already used to some _Killing Intent_, this thanks to being seen as useless by the elders of her clan, nodded in confirmation. But Ino, whose father had babied her for years, was a whole nother story.

"I'm sorry! I was thinking of teaching Sasuke-kun any techniques or jutsus I learned from this! But I promise not to do it on my position as the heiress of the Yamanaka clan!" Ino proclaimed while bowing as low as physically possible for her.

"Why you sneaky little," Naruko was muttering and Ino thought she was done for. The dead last was being protected by the Hokage and she just angered the whiskered girl.

'_I'm dead,_' she thought as she felt tears already forming in her eyes. Then she heard Naruko's laughter and looked up to see the girl grinning back at her.

"Well play there, Ino-chan!" the gamer praised while letting go of Hinata. "Fine, if you do manage to learn a technique or jutsu during our little excursion you're free to teach it to anyone you want. After all, it's you who learned and/or created it. Same goes for whatever money you earned."

"Are you sure about that?" Kakashi inquired after viewing the interaction. He didn't have anything against the Yamanaka and truth be told she had earned a few respect points in his book for trying to pull that stunt. But this was supposed to be a secret training mission and you aren't supposed to divulge what happened in those. They were secret, after all.

"Yep. She earned that after finding that loophole and it's my fault for underestimating her quick thinking," the whiskered blonde informed while helping her fellow blonde up.

"Well, with that issue resolved I think it's time for you to turn us into party members so we start exploring a dungeon," Hiruzen suggested.

Then he explained to the others to click the confirmation on the screen that would appear before them. The non-party members had different varieties of confusion with Kakashi being indifferent, Kurenai and Ino's total lack of understanding and Hinata's looking like she found a missing piece of the puzzle. However, they were all still caught off guard when the transparent blue screens did appear and clicked the [YES] button as the kage suggested. Funny enough only Hinata didn't feel the splitting headache given she had already experienced a similar pain when she had awoken her Byakugan years ago.

(P1) Naruko Uzumaki [Lv3] ~Leader~

(P2) Hinata Hyuga [Lv24]

(P3) Ino Yamanaka [Lv18]

(P4) Kurenai Yuhi [Lv57]

(P5) Kakashi Hatake [Lv77]

(P6) Hiruzen Sarutobi [Lv89]

"Huh? Guess if the party is too big, I can only see the names and levels on my party members while their HP and MP just become colored bars without any numeric values," Naruko commented as she looked at the new additions. Seeing that even Ino was more than ten levels higher hurt her pride by a lot but she was getting used to it.

"At least now they know I'm here. Also, we shouldn't have to worry about explaining most things about the party system. I went ahead and added that information into the installation process. It would be too time-consuming to always have to explain it to new members." Benihime proclaimed from her place on top of her mistress's head. Hearing the new voice made the new adventures turn towards the source while the adults blinked the children gasped in wonder.

"Y-Y-You're that fairy I s-s-saw Naruko-kun before the f-f-fight with that b-b-bully!" stuttered the Hyuga princess at finally seeing a colored version of the creature. Ino for her part just watches with a slacked jaw at the cute winged creature as she had always thought fairies were just little kids' tales.

"I guess you weren't lying about this power. Forgive me for doubting you, Hokage-sama," Kakashi commented as his vision cleared and he started seeing the numbers on top of the people present.

Kurenai for her part, however, remained silent with widened eyes as her mind tried to process the new information. She instinctively tried to dispel a genjutsu even though she already knew none of this was an illusion. She knew illusions both from research done on the field and experience gained from practicing it. At this point, only someone like the Hokage or an experienced Sharingan user could fool her. Given that the kage had no reason to play a trick like this, Kakashi was also caught off-guard and nothing in the Uzumaki's history showed a connection with the Uchiha clan the Genjutsu Mistress could only accept that what was happening right now was real. No matter how insane it seemed.

"Naruko-san, could it be possible for you to open a dungeon now?" asked the elder.

Hearing this formality made the Uzumaki sigh which prompted her to inform the old man that he could still use the _chan_ honorific. She may still be mad at him for keeping secrets but it just felt wrong for him to not call her that. After that, she asked her Navi to guide her through the process of opening a dungeon. The fairy gently floated down to the girl's ear and explained what she needed to do. After a nod of understanding the girl walked towards the glowing rainbow-colored orb only, she could see, in the middle of the training ground. After that, she told everyone to get behind her so they would be safe and away from the opening. Then the jinchuriki put her open hand on the orb which caused the name of the dungeon to appear to her.

"World Gate hear my command and open this dungeon: **[Field Type] Tranquil Meadows**!" the gamer invoked with a grin the said she was ready for adventure.

On the other hand, for the party members, it felt the world trembled due to some unknown power. It was almost as if something ancient or before time itself had heard the girl's voice and had awoken. Then right in front of the Uzumaki cracks of pure blue light started appearing in the air. Yet these lines weren't simply jagged lines but straight lines that seemed to form hundreds of thousands of small cubes. But when it seemed like these tiny cubes would cover the sky they stopped. Right after this, the center of this display twisted into a whirlpool that sucked in almost the entire pixelated image of the training ground. In its wake, a pure white hole was left open as if showing it was the exit to a dark cave.

"Well, see you on the other side everyone!" Naruko called out to her party before jumping into the gate. They tried to call out to stop her but it was too late as a string on light seemed to hit her and suspended the blonde in midair. Next thing they knew that girl exploded into pixels that were sucked into the portal in milliseconds.

"Oh great. This is going to feel like fighting Onoki-san all over again." Hiruzen commented while the others felt different levels of panic at seeing this.

Swiftly he stopped their worries by remaining them that Naruko's HP bar was still full. Thanks to Benihime programming the basic knowledge of how the Gamer Soul work and what many of the terms used meant they were calmed down by this. After that, they were trying to decide who would be next when Hinata accidentally walked too close to the portal and got sucked in. That sacred Ino enough that she backed away fast from the portal. To bad her acting like that awake the prankster side of the resident Copy Ninja that only a very few knew existed. Hence, he silently crouched down lean in close to her ear and…

"BOO!" The scream the girl gave could have shattered glass and as an added effect she involuntarily jumped into the portal. As they saw the third female get sucked in Kurenai could only glare at her jonin senpai. He saw that and got up with his signature single-eyed smile before saying: "Ladies first, Yuhi-san."

Somehow that managed to get a small chuckle out of the red-eyed woman against her wishes. Then with a roll of her eyes, she walked into the portal and experience the same process the three girls had felt before her. After this, the Hokage walked in followed later by the Hatake who wondered what would be expecting them on the other side of this portal.

Had anyone with the ability to see the portal or the game world like Naruko been there they would have seen the portal implode in itself. Then as if nothing had ever happened the white orb was once more there.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X

**Author's Notes**

Thank you geoslim21 for catching my mistake of using "neesan" instead of "niisan" when Hinata referted to Neji. I know that Neji can look like a girl but I'm not planing on using a genderbend version of him.


	8. The new world

**Chapter 8: The new world**

(Morning)

(**[Field type] Dungeon - Tranquil Meadows** {F-rank})

On a hill overlooking a land filled with pastures, small patches of forest and rivers that ended in pounds or a lake near a stone church there was a cave. There was nothing special about this cave until the entrance became pixelated with bright blue vines that were soon sucked into a vortex that opened a portal of white light. It was from this portal the Naruko and Benihime materialized in a rain of pixels before the gamer landed safely in her feet.

"Wow, that felt awesome!" exclaimed the whiskered girl at the rush she felt after passing through the portal. Then she looked back at the gateway and wondered: "Maybe a should have waited for them?" At the question, the Navi giggle with a "Probably," as they waited for the other party members. Thankfully the wait wasn't long as the portal flashed and was soon followed by Hinata coming out. Naruko was fast and caught the girl who seemed to have tripped into the gate.

"Careful there Ojou-sama," the jinchuriki joked after catching the Hyuga.

The bluenette blushed at the fulfillment of the old cliche. However, she couldn't enjoy it for long before the portal flashed once more. Next thing they knew Ino came screaming out of the gate and crashed into the leader of the party which resulted in a cloud of dust. This was the scene that the jonin and Hokage walked into. When the cloud cleared Kakashi could be heard giggling. The reason for this was that while the Hyuga heiress landed by the Uzumaki's side the Yamanaka heiress, on the other hand, fell on top of the jinchuriki. But the thing that made the cyclops giggle like this was one of his books was because as Ino got up she ended sitting on Naruko's face. Neither the Hyuga or the Yamanaka noticed this as they coughed away the dust from their lungs.

"Huh, Yamanaka-san? I think you should get up for Uzumaki-san's sake at least," Kurenai suggested with worry.

Seeing that the girls didn't understand she had to point down for them to see the position the mind walker found herself in. After squeaking in embarrassment the purple student jumped off her fellow blonde's face while she held onto her skirt as a blushed started forming. Strangely enough, when everyone looked down on the Uzumaki, the girl was the picture-perfect image of serenity with the only exception being the nosebleed. Seeing this made Kakashi giggle harder as Kurenai facepalmed, Ino's blush darkened a shade and Hinata bit her lip while looking between the two girls with something that looked like jealousy over the situation.

'_Poor thing is lucky Anko-chan isn't here. She would have never let the girl live down how she discovered her kink._' the Genjutsu Mistress thought upon seeing the look on the whiskered girl's face. Thankfully she decided to spare the academy student from any sort of kink-shaming and helped her up. "You okay there, Uzumaki-san?"

"Soft… it was so… soft…" Naruko could be heard saying in a calm voice. That statement only causes Ino's blush to nearly match one of Hinata's best. As for what was the Hyuga princess reaction to this? Well, the adults and fairy did manage to feel a small burst of _Killing Intent_ thrown at the mind walker how was too embarrassed to notice it. Weirdly enough it was that brief burst of K.I. that snapped to the jinchuriki back into reality.

"What happened? Why do I remember something soft landing on me? And why is my nose bleeding?" Naruko questioned to everyone present.

"No reason," Hinata responded with a sweet smile. "What's the plan, Naruko-kun?" It took the gamer a few seconds for her fogged brain to register the question or were it came from. But it still needed a second or two later more for the brain to understand what was being asked of it. Too bad the fog didn't let her notice how the blue princess hadn't stutter or how the purple princess was trying to not look at her in the face.

"Plan… plan… plan… What's the plan Beni-chan?" the fairy was questioned by her still not there mistress. The small red-head chuckled at this but still answered while pulling out a napkin for the girl to clean herself.

"Given this is a field type dungeon I would suggest looking for a high enough vantage point. From there we'll be able to see the lay of the land."

"Wouldn't the cliff we're on now count as one?" Kurenai inquired as she saw the drop point just a few feet from them. The whiskered student shrugged and walked to the edge of the cliff. There she managed to see part of the area she was in before something caught her eye.

It was a lone watchtower.

* * *

**~ New Quest ~ **

**[(Mandatory) Quest: Climb the tower]**

[Description - Welcome to the tried and true practice for an assassin or adventure finding and climbing a high point to see the world around them. Get up there find what interesting points are out there for you to explore.]

[Condition - Climb the tower and chart the map of the land]

[Reward: Unlocks full map of the area and lets you use _Markers_]

* * *

"So this is the so-called quest. Seems interesting," Kakashi commented at seeing the screen before them.

"Yeah, pretty much and we'll have to finish it if we're ever going to have a map of this place. This is weird considering I had a map of our village and I didn't have to climb the Hokage Monument," Naruko answered after closing the quest and the map screens. She had open them previously so see if she could get any information out of it but the screen only showed static.

"Hmm, that seems understandable given this is a new world but I'm sure we could get by with making a map of the area as we walk. We'll only be here for a couple of hours after all," the Hokage mentioned and as soon as he finished that sentence they heard sirens blaring.

* * *

**[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]**

[Party member has tried to sequence break a tutorial mission outside of New Game+! A punishment shall be administered effectively immediately.]

[**PUNISHMENT:** Party (No name assigned) will not be allowed to leave the dungeon until 96 hours have passed and they have finished **(Mandatory) Quest: Climb the tower**.]

* * *

"And people say I'm the trouble maker," the gamer could be heard muttering as they read the new message.

"Wait, we can't leave for 96 hours?" Ino inquired out loud while doing the math in her head. Then her eyes widen and she screamed: "That's four days! Hokage-sama, we can't stay here for that long. People will think we're missing or worst dead. Pus if Hinata-chan and I disappear at the same time, people will think we were kidnapped for our bloodline limits. Not to mention that if you're not found then people will think you were assassinated and war could break out!"

"It seems Inoichi-sama has not been skipping on teaching his daughter how some levels of politics work," the masked jonin in the group commented. Then he turned to the kage. "Yamanaka-san, while only a tad extreme, is right. We can't be here for more than a couple of hours before people start wondering where you are, Sandaime-sama."

"I agree with Kakashi-senpai and Yamanaka-san, Sandaime-sama. We need you back in your seat to keep the people calm. Plus I know the Hyuga clan would go rabid if Hinata-chan is not back after the appointed time. I'm sure you remembered how things were when she was nearly kidnapped by that Lighting ninja years back," the Genjutsu Mistress concurred. The village leader and accidental instigator of the problem nod understanding his subordinates' worries.

"Those are very real concerns, everyone. Now, Naruko-chan why-" Hiruzen agreed while turning to the gamer only to not find her there. "Naruko-chan?" he called out as everyone finally noticed the whiskered girl not standing in front of them.

Then they heard what sounded like thunder behind them followed by the pained screams of a girl. Not a second later a black blur flew by them and over the cliff. Thankfully Hinata managed to notice a curved blade embedded on the edge of the cliff after the blur fell. Quickly she told the adults about as she ran towards it and the grown-ups soon followed. There they found Naruko twitching with achs of electricity sporadically running through her. Weirdly enough the girl's whole body, clothing, and even weapon seemed to be flashing, for lack of better words, yellow around the same intervals as the lightning arcs.

"A little *****_**zap***_ help would be very _***zap***_ appreciated right now! _***zap***_" the Uzumaki screamed at them while twitching with each flash and arc. Kakashi was already prepared and summoned a rope that he used to lasso the blonde. Once the rope was secured everyone help pull the yellow twitching gamer back to safety. There they stared in dread at how the girl just stayed on the ground glowing and twitching while still gripping her weapon like it was a lifeline. Fearing that the girl would suffocate given that position of her face Kurenai turned the girl on her back. There everyone blinked in confusion as they found Naruko looking both bored and slightly annoyed even as she kept on spasming.

"I thought _Mute_ was _***zap***_ was the most annoying affliction _***zap***_ when it hit my spellcasters and _***zap***_ healers. But _paralysis_ just _***zap***_ sucks," Naruko complained while putting away her weapon. Then she tried to stand up only for her body to keep locking up on her with each attempt. "Beni-chan, _***zap* **_can anyone other _***zap***_ than me access my _***zap* **_inventory?"

"Sorry, only spouses have that privilege however we can circumvent this by one of your party members requesting a trade for an anti-paralysis," Benihime answered and explained to them how the trading system worked while using Hinata as the example. During the tutorial, the bluenette opened a trade screen which also appeared to the paralyzed student. From there the girls were successful in exchanging items since it turned out Naruko didn't need to touch the screen to confirm something but just think of it. After the transaction, a glass flask with a yellow liquid materialized in Hinata's hands which Benihime instructed to be given to the afflicted youth. To the surprise of the non-gamers once the whiskered girl drank the potion she glowed into a white silhouette that popped. After the pop, the light went away to show the girl was completely normal.

"Huh, weird. I thought that would taste awful but it's more like honey-lemon tea," Naruko commented while getting up and stretching to test out her body. "By the way, unless you want to experience what I just went through I suggest _not_ trying to open the gate while it's locked," she added while giving her limbs a final shake. Feeling both numb while your muscle spasm out of control was a surreal experience for her and gaining control back the next second gave her a bit of sensory disorientation but thankfully it went away during the stretches.

"Thank you for trying to find a solution while we were somewhat in a panic, Naruko-chan. However, we still need to find a way to exit this dungeon." Hiruzen commented. Then he turned towards the Navi and asked her if she knew of a way out of her predicament. In response, he got a glare from both of the adventures.

"We wouldn't be in this predicament if you hadn't wanted to skip a mandatory quest!" both girls reprimanded and the old shinobi had the decency to look like a kid that just made their mother angry. Everyone else present just stared slack-jawed at the swift in power they just witness. Then the floating redhead talked: "Given Naruko-chan has followed the rules up till now the system hasn't found a reason to punish her. However, now that it has happened, I have to make it clear that any punishment made or given by the system is absolute. We will have to wait out the full 96 hours before we can exit. Thankfully time inside a field type dungeon moves significantly faster than it does in the outside world. To be more specific an hour outside equals 24 hours inside but we will feel all of those four days from daybreak to sundown. It's also why it still early morning here while outside it was already noon."

"Does this mean any time Uzumaki-san wishes to enter a field type it will be morning? Also, what is the maximum amount of time one can say inside a dungeon?" Kakashi inquired to the living manual.

"Answer #1: Yes, anytime a field type dungeon is entered it will be early morning, Hatake-san. Answer #2: The maximum amount of time one can safely spend inside a dungeon is a week. Any more than a week could become detrimental to a player's mental and physical health without proper training or preparations. Also, I like to point out that once a dungeon is evacuated it cannot be entered again for eight real-world hours. During this time the natural resources found used, gathered, consumed or mined shall be replenished and enemies that are not part of quests will also respawn. Quest found and finished in a dungeon however can't be repeated unless they are of the gathering type. In such cases, the rewards for repeated quests will be reduced to either monetary gain, healing items or materials common to the area" Benihime informed them.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one that finds all of this weird," they heard Ino begging which earned her a small laugh from the Uzumaki.

"It may be because of all of the video games I've played, my new bloodline limit, wishing I could live like a video game character or a combination of everything but each new thing I find out about my powers as a new adventure," the whiskered girl said as she crisscrossed her fingers behind her head. Then she started moving away from them and down the small hill to their right. "We should start moving and get to that watchtower to open up the map. That way we can see what we can do for the duration of our stay here."

"Uzumaki-san, wait! We need to make a plan before we think of exploring anything!" Kurenai shouted at the girl. It got the desired effect of stopping the girl but when she half turned to them she had a bored look on her face.

"I have a plan, Yuhi-san. Finish the quest assign to me. Besides, this is an F-rank dungeon which means the only one here in mortal danger is me. Even Violet-chan there, who is just Lv18, would seem like a legendary champion against the monsters here. That's not even taking Hatake-san and Sandaime-sama into account. Those two are practically gods walking among ants in here," Naruko answered before she continued her walk.

"Is she always that disrespectful?" the ruby-eyed jonin asked with a small frown on her lips. Then she heard both the Yamanaka and Sarutobi chuckling which made her raise an eyebrow. They were about to answer her at the same time when they noticed this and the mind walker tried to remain silent to let her leader talk. The elder, on the other hand, told her to talk instead and the girl bowed in thanks before talking.

"Yuhi-san, that was Naruko being in her best behavior. Normally when she wants to be disrespectful she makes sure you feel as insulting as possible and somehow does so without cursing. In fact, I once saw her make the principal so mad he screamed at her so loudly they had to get him to the hospital because he passed out. Later it turned out he managed to pop a blood vessel during the screaming."

"That doesn't inspire confidence," the female jonin commented. Still knowing that they would be left behind by the gamer the group went after the girl. Thankfully they didn't need to need to walk down the hill for more than a couple of minutes before the found the girl. The strange part of this, however, was that the girl was talking to a grey-bearded man wearing robes and looked to be around their Hokage's age. Then as they got closer the group saw the old man hand over to the girl a book with a light grey cover. She accepted it before opening it and a few seconds later she gains a sour look.

"I can't read anything here, Endo-san," Naruko announced mournfully as she kept flipping the pages in the book. Hearing this Endo started stroking his grey beard in thought as he eyed her critically.

"Are you sure? I can sense a great deal of mana in you for someone so young. You should be able to easily see the words written in an entry-level spellbook like that one."

"I can see the letters no problem. But no one ever bothered to teach me how to read or write in our common language. So this new one is almost impossible for me to understand. All I can see are squiggly lines with dots here or there. Even my language usage straighter lines make the characters!" the girl confessed since she hadn't noticed her party had reached them.

"That is a shame but understandable in these dangerous times. How about this? You bring me five _Baked Apples_ and I'll use a transfer spell to give you a basic knowledge of _Magika_ so you can translate the written words."

* * *

**~ New Quest ~**

**[Cooking Quest - Baking Apples for spells]**

[Description - Endo-san has promised to teach you how to understand Magika so you can read spellbooks. All you have to do is bring him five Baked Apples.]

[Conditions - Gather five(5) apples and cook them]

[Reward #1: Understanding of the Magika language

Reward #2: Entry-level spellbook (Non-elemental)

Reward #3: Bake Apple recipe]

[Will you accept? YES/NO]

* * *

"Five baked apples coming right up!" Naruko declared while handing the book back to the old man. Then she looked around for apples and quickly found a few apple trees a little down the hill. Without bothering to check with her teammates she dashed to the trees and started collecting the fruits. During this Hiruzen tried to talk to the old traveler but the man just stood there unmoving and unresponsive to any of their calls. At one point Ino got angry and yelled at him with all her might but the non-response remained the same. Then Naruko came back but seemingly without the apples.

"Why are you yelling at the nice old man, Violet?"

"It's not my fault this geezer doesn't know any manners!"

"First of all, Endo-san is an NPC which means that he is not real. Second, NPCs only talk to the party leader in other words. me. And finally, considering I'm the first person with the _GS _bloodline limit its safe to say any person we find here are nothing but fakes or mana constructs." After that explanation, the whiskered girl spoke to Endo. Just like she had said he easily responded to her by asking if she already had the food.

The adventurer responded negatively which prompted the old traveler to comment about how much he liked those open fire cook apples. The party noticed how their leader's eyes lit up at the obvious clue before she pulled out the apples and placed them on the campfire close to the man. Then she took out her zippo-lighter, lit up the wood and patiently waited for the apples to cook. Kurenai was about to comment that this was going to take a while and it would have been more effective to skewer the fruits over the fire when they noticed how the apples started producing smoke. Then in a brief poof of smoke, the fruits had darkened and the Uzumaki smirked as she grabbed the food. To their surprise, she didn't get a burn from picking them up and then she extended her hand to Endo who grabbed it. This opened up a screen confirming the completion of the quest.

"Ah, those sure hit the spot!" Endo was heard saying while rubbing his belly. Then he pulled out two items: the grey book and a small transparent blue crystal that could pass as a piece of chalk. The book was handed to the Uzumaki while the transparent chalk's tip lit up with a blue spark. Then they saw the old man burn a circle on the air close to the girl's forehead, a triangle hourglass near her throat and a square above each of her ears. All of these geometric shapes had in their center symbols that could be words but they couldn't read any of it. Once the shapes were done the chalk was turned off and put away. Naruko for her part didn't try to move as she recognizes these were magic sigils and from her games knew how bad it could get is they were disturbed during mid-incantation. Then when the old mage put his hand in prayer the party felt the energy around them come to life. This awakening also signaled the shapes to start spinning as they began glowing.

"_Oh spirits of the world,_" Endo started chanting "_I have found one of great promise who wishes to learn the words of life written by the children of mana. Please hear my pleas and let me share the songs that your ears enjoy. Let this child speak your voice as the gospel of the world._ **Spirit's Tongue**!"

During the magical chant, Naruki had felt her throat burning and dry as she had talked non-stop for years. She hears thousands upon thousands of voices whiskering at the same time in her ears. Finally, in her head, she could see letters and words suddenly gain forms alongside meanings that could be understood. Then when the chant was completed the shapes became a spinning fire that smashes and shattered like crystal in front of her mouth. A second later the small fragments shoot into her mouth and while there was no pain she needed to gasp as it felt she the breath knocked out of her.

"Don't worry my dear. Just take deep and relaxing breaths for a minute or so and you'll be fine. It was fun getting to know you Naruko Uzumaki. I can see you will be someone to watch in the future." With that finished, Endo walked away from the girl and her party up the hill where he soon disappeared from their sight.

"A-A-Are you okay N-N-Naruko-kun?" Hinata asked while gently placing a hand in the girl's back. Just like the old mage said it only took the Uzumaki a few moments to recover from the process of gaining a new language. "C-C-Can you r-r-read the book n-n-now?" At the inquiry, the blonde opens the book at a random point and smiled at seeing how the words now made sense.

"Yeah. It's still difficult to understand in some places but I _can_ read it. Heck, somehow I can now see pictures and diagrams with explanations and/or equations that weren't there before!" At this exclamation, the Hyuga felt joy for the girl gaining something that had been denied to her. Then she became confused when the blonde sighed and said: "Too bad I can't read it for another week." Those hearing this were about to ask "Why?" when they heard a giggle. This made everyone turn to the floating fairy who was grinning up a storm between fits of laughter. Soon enough Benihime noticed that she got everyone's attention and managed to get control of herself.

"Sorry about. It's just that I'm surprised it took this long for you to say that Naruko-chan," the small redhead commented. Then she added: "While your bloodline lets you _use_ up to two skill-books by "consuming" them they are still books. This means that you can circumvent the learning limit by reading books like a normal person. Plus spellbooks are different in that depending on their level you can learn multiple spells from the same book if you take your time to understand the text. The number of spells that can learn base on level of mastery is the following: four (4) for Entry, three (3) for Intermediate, two (2) for Advance and one (1) for Master.

Also, your _Gamer Mind_ will help speed up the process of learning how to invoke magic from a spellbook by letting you read everything about one spell at a time. However, this will take a great deal of mental capacity that will more often than not leave you drained and in need of sleep. As such I suggest only reading before bed to let your mind rest and recover from the strain put on it."

"That's very interesting. But does this mean Uzumaki-san can just take say two weeks off to read and come back mastering a while class of magic?" Kakashi questioned with a thoughtful look. At the same time, he thought: '_If it's like that she may very well have a bloodline limit that will surpass even the Sharingan in the ability to gain new jutsu._"

"There exist safeguards for that, Hatake-san. Three in fact: player level, magical proficiency, and elemental affinity. For the first one, the player needs to reach a certain persona level for the shop to give access to the books or even be able to open that book containing the desired spell. For magic proficiency, the player must practice the magic of that level until they acquire mastery over it at which case the proficiency will evolve into the next level.

However, each class of magic has its proficiency that needs to be mastered individually through repeated use. This brings me to the last part "Elemental Affinity" which is dictated by the user's affinity with a type of magic they can use initially. While humans can mostly use any type of magic everyone has an area that they better at than others. Depending on which element comes naturally to you will determine how difficult it will be for the user to master the other elements. The reason behind it is the elemental rock-paper-scissors system where an element is stronger or weaker than another element. " Benihime explained and got a nod from the cyclops.

"Hmm, while a little different this magic seems to work like we've come to understand the elemental natures we used in our jutsu," Kakashi commented while stroking his chin in thought. Then he noticed Naruko raising her hand like one would at school. "Yes?"

"What's the difference between the magic and jutsu system? They never taught us about elemental jutsu in school," the Uzumaki inquires to the surprise of the adults. Then the girl added: "Come to think of I do remember Iruka-sensei did try to teach us about them but Mizuki-sensei reminded him that the principal had passed a rule or something like that that made us skip that part. I think I heard something like "It's their jonin-sensei's job to teach them the really dangerous stuff." From what I could tell it was probably to stop the more active students like myself from burning down our homes do to unsupervised jutsu practice."

After saying this, she noticed that the adults were glaring in her general direction. Thankfully years of hateful stares had taught to tell apart a look of hate at a person and one produced by other thoughts not connected to the person. That didn't stop her from asking the heiresses from collaborating her story which they did while expressing their confusion on the subject. They always did find it weird that such an important knowledge for prospective shinobi was not taught but didn't word it because their parents taught them about. Thus the princesses had, mistakenly, assumed it was a clan's job to teach about the different elemental natures and how they work with or against each other. But then where did that leave the students from civilian families and orphans?

"Girls," the Hokage started with a very grave voice. "Tonight while we make camp I want you to tell me what you have learned during your time in the academy. I noticed that the quality of some of our genin has dropped in the last couple of years. By the looks of it, it seems I've done a mistake in letting the Civilian Council lower the requirements for students to graduate."

"That partially explains how easy it was to fail the many genin teams that you've tried to give me recently. Now I feel a little bad about causing them so many nightmares during their exam," the cyclops said with a thoughtful look. '_I did notice a drop in skill level when it came to the new genin hopefuls but put it to one of the cons of living in a somewhat peaceful era. Guess it is my mistake from not following what I preach. But knowing Sandaime-sama he will want to get to the bottom of this. Log knows how many have died on the field because of this and possibly even more lack of knowledge do to someone thinking it was too hard for the children._'

Just like the Copy Ninja was thinking the Hokage was already processing this new information. He had noticed the quality of the students falling slightly in recent years but that was to be expected given the lowering on graduation requirements. However not in his wildest dreams did he think that meant the classes being taught would themselves be lowered! The academy was meant to prepare the students for what was to come in their future which meant that the teachers had to provide as much knowledge as possible. Giving this information people like Iruka still believed in this but apparently, the principal didn't think so. As such, the ruler of the village decided that this conflict of ideas needed some looking into after he got out of this dungeon.

"Thank you for this information ladies. I will make sure that this gets investigated once we're back home." Huruzen told the children who nodded in acceptance. Then he added: "As for your question Naruko-chan? We can go into more details tonight while we camp for the night. However, one difference between your magic and our jutsu is that even through rigorous training and research people had usually only ever managed to use one or two more elemental outside their primary one. Only those with special bloodline can effectively wield multiple elements and in most of these cases, it's because bloodline limit that lets them fuse these different chakras into a new element. A good example of this can be my teacher and our first Hokage, Hashirama Senju. He had could unit _water_ and _earth_ chakras to form _wood_ chakra which he used to create the forest that surrounds our village."

Understanding this the girl nodded and accepted that she would later know more. After this, she suggested that they started moving since she was starting to feel the need to explore. No sooner than this was proclaimed that the party heard water sloshing alongside something bouncing. This made them turn to see a blue orb jumping around without a clear destination. Noticing that this jelly looking thing was producing the sounds Ino was about to ask what it was when Naruko ran passed her in a burst of speed and jumped onto the jelly. One stomp later the creature exploded with a _**SPLAT**_ that briefly showers their feet with blue gel. A second later they saw the congratulations screen indicating that they gained 1XP and 1 copper coin. Once the screen disappeared alongside the remains of the thing that was just killed they turned to its killer who looked to be searching for her next kill. The Uzumaki noticed the looks she was getting and turn around to grin at her party members.

"Well? Come on people! Let's move it already. That was just a little Slime, I'm sure we'll face harder enemies the further in we go." After the proclamation, the girl proceeds to move down the hillside road followed by her fairy companion.

"Does anyone else getting the vibe that we're stuck in here with a killer? Because I do." Ino commented as she felt a shiver run down her spine do to that display. Part of the training that all Yamanaka needed to do to understand how to use their techniques was to study psychological behavior. While this didn't make the mind walker an expert yet give her age and inexperience it did let her know and detect a few things. Some of those things being that willingness and ease with which the Uzumaki showed when killing that slime as she called it. Her daddy may not have let her read up on the files of the really messes up people he had interviewed over the years but she had read enough to see that very distinguished red flag. Then she felt a hand gently patting her head and she looked up to see Kakashi.

"Don't worry so much, Yamanaka-san. After all, Uzumaki-san isn't the only killer you're stuck with," the silver-haired jonin told with the most ominous voice he could muster while smiling at her with his eye. Then he left her to follow their leader on the road to adventure while not bothering to look at the trembling mess he turned the girl into.

"I… I think I hate him." the Yamanaka heiress stuttered while shaking in fear.

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

(Hours later)

For the party members the trip through the dungeon had been eventful to say the least.

As they followed their designated leader they were subjected to her apparent lack of concentration with the task at hand. It almost seemed hypocritical how the whiskered girl had admonished their kage about not wanting to finish the original quest while she got distracted by everything else. More times than they could count they had to stop for their leader to pick a bush clean of its flowers, to look under rocks the size of a child's torso, the occasional cutting of patches of tall grass and for her to climb a tree to get all of the fruit, nuts or bird eggs on it after which the tree would down in four swings of her scythe and then somehow turn into a bundle of wooden planks with another swing once the tree trunk landed on the ground.

Worst was that they couldn't tell the Uzumaki to not do any of these things do to all of the materials and money they had gains from it. The flowers the gamer was gathering, Ino noticed, could be used as ingredients for making healing tonics or many possible poisons. Then came the cutting of tall grass that somehow produced both already bundled wheat, copper coins and insect that the girl would try to capture with some difficulty; the bugs turned out to also be useful for potion-making once the girl scanned them. Adding to this was the act of looking under the rocks gave which earned them more money or bugs. Then much to everyone else befuddlement when the rocks were thrown they would break easily to reveal even more money or produced pieces of flint and maybe salt pebbles.

However, nothing of the previously mentioned compared to the girl's seemingly insatiable need to kill all the monsters they would see. It was like the girl just could not let a single monster lives be they slimes, bats, rabbits with horns, slugs with huge lips, living mushrooms, dog size squirrels, wolves or any other enemy they had encountered none were safe from the whiskered adventurer's warpath. Then came the treasure map the girl found inside satchel strapped to the bones of a long-forgotten traveler.

"GAAAAAH! I can't take it anymore," Ino was heard screaming as she pulled her hair out of another bush it had gotten stuck in. "We've been indulging your every whim for who knows how long but I've had enough! I could stand the fighting you force Hinata-chan and me take part in because the jonin senseis agreed that it would be good practice for us and I will not say no to all the money that we've made but I draw the line here!"

"Ino-san…" Hinata tried to start but a fierce glare from the enraged blonde made her flinch.

"Don't you try to defend her Hinata-chan! I know full well I forced myself into this exploration without knowing what it was about but I will not stay silent when I see us being lead to our death by freaking inept stubborn fool!"

"Hey!"

"No, you sip it Naruko-baka! Right now I'm tired, angry, hungry, sweaty and dirty enough that cold bath in a river is sounding divine. So I don't care anymore for keeping up appearances just to keep that stupid inflated ego of yours. We already heard you confess that you can't read and didn't say anything out of respect but enough is enough. We all knew it was a mistake to let you read that map and the fact that you had us walking around this forest for hours proves it. I'll admit that the idea of finding mysterious buried treasure is a good fantasy. However, it's not one I'm willing to die for because our supposed "leader" can't admit that she has already gotten us lost because _she_ never thought that maybe it was better to ask someone for help with something _**she**_ had no hope of finishing.

Well, surprise baka! We're now in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees with branches thick enough to almost back out the sun and lord knows how many monsters just waiting to jump us. So you two options: admit that you got us lost and give to one of the adults so we can get out of here or I use every last bit of my energy to beat you conscious and we brag your sorry ass out of here."

"Are you done?" After getting a nod in response Naruko lower the map and sighed. "First of all, yes, I do admit to not being able to read like you people heard. However, it's not from lack of trying and more because no one bothered to help me with that while we were growing up. Second, that doesn't mean I can't read this map because it uses pictures instead of words. Therefore I can understand and make out the directions as I used to making maps for my games since there doesn't exist a place where you can just go a look up a map of the area you get stuck in. Third, after that rant, I am willing to admit I may have forgotten the part where I was with other people instead of just me and Benihime. For that, I am sorry and will try to interact with you more; be it asking for help, directions or something else I'll take you into consideration. You aren't nameless NPCs after all. And finally, I was going to say, before your legitimate rant, that we're in the area marked on the map."

After saying this the small leader showed them the map which showed the image of three tree stumps in a triangle formation pointing at a pair of hands holding up a bag. Then the girl pointed behind her where they noticed the tree stumps that were pointing at another tree. Then the party looked a the tree which had a carving of the hands holding up the bag.

"That doesn't change the fact that we have been blindly following you since you refuse to ask for help," Ino commented with a scowl.

"I don't expect you to forgive me after that rant. But I promise to do a lot better after this. We're going to be stuck here for three more days and the last thing we need is for us to be at each other's throats."

After that promise, and to show she was talking it seriously, Naruko asked the jonin to help her see if there were any traps around. Both Kurenai and Kakashi agreed to help as they would get to both tests the Uzumaki's knowledge of traps and possibly used this as a learning experience for the other two students. However, during this search they also thought back on what they had seen during this excursion were they had taken a more passive role mostly on the unspoken order of the Hokage. This way they managed to see how the students worked together in this environment. What they saw was not something they liked.

First came Naruko who while was technically the leader seem to think that meant her ways were the only way. Much like Ino had pointed out the Uzumaki seem to expect that everyone will do what she would say without a second thought. It also didn't help that Benihime was feeding this behavior by doing anything and everything the girl ordered. Not to mention it was worrying how often the girl sought out battle and treated it like sport. It was true that for the life they live enjoying a challenge was a good step to surviving some of the harder parts but they all knew happened to Blood Knights that were felt unchecked. Either they became food for maggots on some godforsaken field or they went rogue in search of a better fight.

However, this was more worrisome due to the girl's status as jinchuriki as such bloodlust could be perceived as a symptom of holding the demon. It wasn't that they didn't trust the Yondaime's sealing abilities but they also knew from research and word of mouth that it didn't matter how strong a seal was if the vessel was weak. And in this case, 'weak' could easily mean that the kunoichi to be leaned far more into her violent tendencies that the could easily use a fuel. Worst, if it ever awakens, the Kyubi could possibly trick with promises of greater power or that the real challenge came from killing those close to her without getting caught. Then there existed the apocalyptic possibility in which the girl managed to sharpen the bloodlust and turns into someone like the Yondaime Mizukage goes on to commit genocide against the world while back by the power of the strongest Tailed Beast.

After this came Ino who made the grown-ups frown at what they saw. The girl had barely any physical aptitude to show for her years in the academy. Sure, they had taken into account that the children had just come out of a full school day but civilian children already were balls of energy that exploded into activity after school ended. Therefore into was supposed to be a given that a child from ninja clan should be even more energetic given their higher stamina capacity obtain through training. Yet the Yamanaka almost couldn't keep up the pace of the Uzumaki and Hyuga. It was true that said pace could be erratic but there were enough times where they would just sit around and wait for their leader to finish something.

Then came the girls fighting skills when Naruko suggested for the other two students to join her. They had noticed, just like Naruko had pointed out, the monsters in this dungeon were weak and easy to deal with. The jonin would compare the level challenge these creatures pose to be on the same level as fighting a first-year student. This could be seen in how easy the Uzumaki and Hyuga could defeat their opponents in seconds. On the other hand, Ino seemed to have trouble battling the more mobile enemies to the point her classmate had to help distract the monsters more than once. More than once they felt frustrated how some of the enemies could easily run circles around the girl before she got help.

Then there was their evaluation of Hinata and even Kurenai couldn't deny what was in front of her. The girl was not only shy but showed so little confidence in herself that she didn't even try to fight Naruko's whims. This was unlike Ino who had from time to time bicker that they were wasting time even that went unheeded by the whiskered blonde. Sure they did notice the girl had an or was forming an infatuation with the Uzumaki but didn't excuse acting like a doormat. It also didn't help how constantly the girl tried to erase her presence from them. Normally this would be praised by the jonin since that was an invaluable skill for any shinobi to possess in their repertoire. However, they knew this was being done because of a lack of self-worth and Kurenai had to bite her lip since she knew this stemmed from how the girl was treated by the clan.

However, the adults didn't just concentrate on the bad aspects as they took account of the skills the girls did have. Examples of this were Naruko's incredible adaptability with how she could get into a fight with a monster and quickly find a weakness that she could exploit. Then there was her eye for detail as she always kept herself alert for any items that could be useful for her later on. Next was Ino, who much like they expected, could easily identify the plants the Uzumaki gathered and informed them what these did and how best to prepare them. Plus the girl turned out to be a natural with the whip once the whiskered student managed to convince her fellow blonde to use the _Rat Lasso _after a particularly embarrassing fight the girl had against a group made the dog size squirrels and living mushrooms. Finally came Hinata who came with the standard kit of skills they've come to expect from a Hyuga if slightly weakened because of the girl's shyness. Still, they did notice that the princess was far more flexible and graceful than the average Hyuga who were known from their rigid and unwavering defense. On some occasions, they even saw her bend or waltzed out of attacks only to come back with a counter from an angle that another Gentle Fist user would not have used.

However, to their overall assessment, the three students still needed work before they could be considered proper kunoichis. Even if this was a time of peace Kurenai knew that should she had fought the three of them as they are now when she was a genin she could have knocked all of them flat on their faces and she didn't even know a quarter of the genjutus she knew now. Because of this they really hope that these girls didn't represent the standard for their since that would mean something wrong has happened in the academy.

**_*Thunk*_**

"And with that, the swinging axes trap is no more," Naruko declared from on top of a three-branch after she had cut the strings that had been previously holding the weapons in the air. After this, she landed on the ground and examine the weapons which she determined to be a regular pair of woodcutter axes in good condition. That meant they went into her inventory for later while at the same time she pulled out a shovel she had bought a couple of days back. Also, it turned out that the shop provided by the system was now called _Digital Adventure's Shop_ and it even had a cute redheaded merchant called Anna operating it. Anyway, the next thing the Uzumaki did was ask Hinata to use her Byakugan to see how far she would need to dig and it turned out that the chest was only four feet down. However, the bluenette's confused stare made the whiskered blond groan.

"I knew they would be a catch," Naruko muttered before asking: "Please, tell me what you're seeing Hinata-chan?"

"T-T-The chest… It has a c-c-chakra network?" Answered the Hyuga princess in confusion.

This, of course, prompted the Uzumaki to ask what a chakra network was since she didn't remember the term. The adults quickly explained that, as the name implied, it was the pathways with which the chakra traveled through the body and that all living things had one. The party was quick to notice how that information soured the girl's mood considerably as she started muttering and cursing to herself while she started digging at a rather blazing fast pace.

Due to this, and to almost everyone's surprise, it didn't take her more than a couple of seconds to hit the chest. However, they didn't get a chance to think of the impossibility of a girl that size finishing a job that would have taken a full-grown man half an hour. The reason for this being the jinchuriki jumping out of the hole with her weapon drawn and at the ready once she landed. Next thing they knew the ground exploded with the treasure chest popping out of the hole opened only it was filled with rows upon rows of teeth alongside a long drooling tongue.

Ino scream in fear but Naruko managed to hit the underside of the creature with an upper swing of her scythe. This causes the monster to not only shut itself from the impact but it to also flipped it in the air. That caused the monster to land on its "head" once it crashed onto the ground. Not taking the moment for granted the gamer put away her scythe and took out one of the new axes. Then she took a leaping swing at the chest, slammed the ax on the creature's bottom and went to town on it with the weapon. However, after 10 hits the Uzumaki waa sent flying upwards by way of a kick to the chin from an emaciated leg that shot out of the monster. Not a second later another thin leg joined its twin and equally spindly arms but ending in long sharp claws slid out of its side.

Once that happened the monster jumped onto its feet and stood a foot taller than Kakashi at its full height. After this, the monster growled in rage before throwing crazed swipes at the party. Thinking fast the Copy Ninja and Genjutsu Mistress grabbed a student each and jump out of the way while Hiruzen took out a black and gold bo staff to push the monster back. He didn't get a chance to do so as a spinning blade came down and amputated the chest's arms. Already knowing attack came from Naruko the kage used his staff to sweep the monster's legs from under it. The legs snapped easier than the twigs they resembled and caused the creature to crash back on the ground. There it roared at the old shinobi and tried to stab him with its tongue. That proved to be a mistake and the reason why it lost the appendage as Naruko crash into its head axe first. Between the combined impact and weight of the girl the creature's mouth was slammed shut and in turn causes its teeth to serve the attacking tongue. Therefore it was understandable when the treasure chest screamed in pain and opened its maw wide.

"Keep it open!" Everyone heard the girl scream as she let go of the wedged weapon and was thrown back because of it. Not second after hearing this Kakashi and Kurenai lassoed strings of ninja wire around the upper half of the monster and tied to other ends to trees. The living chest tried to fight its entrapment but it only resulted in the steel wire cutting further into its gums and resulted in more pain. During this Naruko ran back towards the front to the creature but everyone notice she now had manic grin stretching her face.

"Hello there," she announced with a mad giggle once she was in front of the monster. This causes the chest to growl at her in hate but then it started to shake in fear as if it seemed to have noticed the girl's bloodlust. This made her grin even more as she pulled out an unlit torch whose rags were wet with oil. "Please do scream, would you? I want your species to hear your death. I want them to know I'm coming for them!"

Once the declaration was made the mad Uzumaki lit the torch and rammed it down the creature's throat. Given the wooden body of the monster, it was no surprise how quickly it burst into flames. That, however, didn't prepare them for the cries and whimpers they heard coming from the monster as it trashes about while to flames consumed it. This lasted for about half a minute before the monster-chest exploded in a cloud of white smoke and its place now remained an apparent normal chest waiting to be opened.

* * *

[**Congratulations! You win!**]

[You've gained 150XP]

[Loot: 50G and Gold key fragment x01]

[Naruko Uzumaki has leveled up!]

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv4] ~Trickster Queen~

Job: Novice

XP: 012 / 395

HP: 101 + 17 = 118

MP: 1,444 + 69 = 1,513

ATK: 015 + 1 = 016

DEF: 038 + 1 = 039

AGI: 013 + 1 = 014

VIT: 009 + 1 = 010

INT: 007 + 1 = 008

SPR: 263 + 6 = 269

PER: 009 + 1 = 010

Attribute Points: 0000 + 10 = 0010

* * *

Everyone remained quiet for what seemed like forever as they tried to process what just happened. Then…

"What… the… hell?!" Ino finally asked at the top of her lungs while she looked at the Uzumaki in terror.

"I haaaaaaateeeeee mimics," Naruko answered with more venom that anyone that possible from the normally cheerful blonde. "They _stay_ there _calling out_ to you with _**promises**_ of money, weapons or legendary items. Promises of wealth and power beyond that will be yours if you just open the chest. But noo_oooo_, once you open it you get a face full of teeth!

But the worst is when you just finish killing the boss the dungeon and you decide to explore some more because: "Hey maybe I missed something!" So against your better judgment, you heal up and start looking around only to find that one chest you miss. So go: "Gee golly looks like I miss one!" Then like a total idiot you go for it knowing full well you have yet to save your game in hours yet you still _open it_ and BOOM! FACE FULL OF **MIMIC**!

But you're still optimistic about and think: "No worries! I can take this loser!" Only for him to cast **whack** on your healer first and **somehow managed to land the damn spell that seems to never work! So you now can't revive party members. Then SOMEHOW that stupid fake manages to used WHACK THREE MORE TIMES AND WIPES YOUR PARTY WHICH FORCES YOU TO LOSE EVERYTHING! SO NOW YOU HAVE TO GYAAAAAAAGH!**"

It took everyone more than a couple of minutes to get their bearings after being blasted away by the girl's rant induce rage. But when they did the party members saw their party leader twitching and panting as she tried to get a hold of herself. At the same time, the two jonin not familiar with the blonde bared witness to the nine whipping tails the jinchuriki's hair had turned into.

"Been holding that one in for a while, haven't you?" Benihime asked after she floated back to her mistress. "By the way, your eyes are glowing red again."

That earned the fairy a small glared but it was enough of a signal for the Uzumaki. As such the girl closed her eyes and started taking calming breaths as her chakra began to control itself. As the power and wind started to die down the hair when back to its normal straight version. Then when silence fell on the forest the girl's knees buckled and she would have face-planted on the ground if Hiruzen hadn't caught her.

"Anything we should know about, young lady?" The tone used by the old Kage was more reprimanding then worry to show how serious he found this sudden show of rage. In contrast, the student in question looked like she was halfway between drunk and sleep as she turned her head, the only part of her body she could control right now, to answer.

"Remember how angry you felt years ago on your birthday when you thought you had finished your paperwork early for once and then they brought in two more trolleys full of paper for you to sign? Yeah, same feeling," the de-powered child answer with a slight slur to her words before she let gravity take her head.

"I understand the feeling but doesn't mean you can let your emotions control you like that." After the reprimand, the Sandaime wait for a response but got none. "Naruko-chan? … Hey, Naruko-chan? … Naruko!?" Worrying about his honorary granddaughter he turned her softly while holding her head just in case. Yet as once he saw her face Hiruzen didn't know whether to laugh or worry at the goofy and half-sleep look the girl now had. Heck, he ended up chuckling a bit as the girl somehow managed to slowly blink one eye at a time. Then the girl spoke:

"_~Hey~ _Is it normal to taste periwinkle and hear banana?"

That made everyone sweat drop in astonishment at how the maelstrom of rage just a few moments ago and _this_ drunk were the same people.

"What is wrong with her?" Ino finally asked after ignoring the flight response of her brain and getting close to the Uzumaki. On a whim, she poked the girl which earned her a stupid drunk giggle and a "Pretty lady," response. If asked they ask the Yamanaka why her cheeks got red it was because she's angry _NOT _because that compliment made her heart thump! During this Benihime scanned the Uzumaki to see what happened and she chuckled.

"I guess we just found out one of the triggers the _Gamer Mind_ can't suppress. Gamer rage truly is a sight to behold," the Navi explained with a small grin. Then she added: "Don't worry everyone! She's like this because one of her skills got overloaded trying to calm her down. Give our illustrious leader a couple of minutes and she'll be back to normal. In the meantime, why don't we open the chest? Oh, but make sure to let her keep any weapons or items for now!"

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

* * *

[System reboot starting…]

[Please wait…]

[ 10% … ]

[ 25% … ]

[ 40% … ]

[ 75% … ]

[ 90% … ]

[System reboot complete. System start!]

* * *

"Ouch, my head. Did anyone saw the horse shoe that hit me?"

"I think even you would have died if a horse kicked you in the head," an annoyed voice answered Naruko's groaning.

Painfully that the Uzumaki tried to open her eyes but the light hurt and she closed them again. Still, the girl didn't give up and tried again to slowly open one eye. It took a while but the eye became acclimated to the light. After this, a quick look around showed that there was still daylight out. However, the group had set up a small camp with a fire where skewers of fruits and meat were being cooked. Then she looked to where the sound had come and found Ino setting a few feet away. It was at that moment that she finally felt the soft and warm pillows her head was resting one. Thus the whiskered girl looked up and meet a pair of orbs covered by a dark blue shirt. Mind still filled with fog she followed her instincts.

_***Poke***_

"Eeeep!"

"You're a lot smaller than that dress made you out to be Kurenai-san."

"I am over here Uzumaki-san."

This causes the girl in question to blinked and look in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, she found crimson-eyed kunoichi looking back at her with a raised eyebrow as the woman looked after the food. One slow blink later the whiskered blond sat up at a sedated pace and once the girl was sitting in a stiff fashion she turns to look at where she had been resting. There Naruko found a cherry-red Hinata with an embarrassed smile to accompany the radiant blush while hugging her chest. That made it _click_ to the small lesbian what had just happened.

One: Hinata had been giving her the famous lap pillow.

Two: She had just poked Hinata-chan's chest.

Three: Hyuga's boobs were just if not a little bigger than her own.

Four: she just touched another girl's boobs.

"Nice!" Naruko declared with a thumbs up. How the Uzumaki managed to put so much energy and passion into that exclamation while keeping a perfectly blank expression they will never know. But the mask did not stop the explosive nosebleed that propelled the diminutive girl headfirst into a tree. That impact, besides toppling the tree to the ground, knocked out the gamer almost immediately.

"Great, she is a lesbian and a disaster one to boot. At least that confirms she not after Sasuke-kun," Ino muttered after seeing the display. Then her eyes discreetly, for her, wandered to the Hyuga's chest. '_Not that I blame Pumpkin. I never hear a peep of a rumor that Hinata-chan being that _stacked_! Almost wants to make me get a squeeze in too. NO! Bad Ino! Hinata-chan is a friend and both of you are straight! …. Right? Wait, what am I thinking? Of course, I'm straight since I like Sasuke-kun! Plus I've never heard of someone that likes both genders. So get away from me gay thoughts!_"

After this display, the only two males of the group could be heard discussing something about a bet and the changing of it. Kurenai decided to ignore the "idiots" and made a **Leaf Clone** so it would bring back the unconscious jinchuriki while she dealt with her almost comatose ward. At the same time, she asked the fairy to watch the food so it wouldn't get burnt.

"Well, overall I think today was productive," Benihime said with a laugh at what happened during this adventure.

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

**Author's Notes:**

Not going to lie. I was late because I was busy playing and beating Astral Chain for the Switch. It's not a perfect game but would recommend it if you like character action games.

**Update (09/19/19)**: Made a mistake with the XP need to level up. It's supposed to be 395xp to reach Lv5, not 263xp.

**Update (01/16/20)**: Noticed a slight error in math. Naruko's Defense was set to 38 when it should have been 48 with the leather geat and 49 when she leveled up.

**Update** **(01/19/20)**: Noticed errors in the math for some stats.


	9. This is why you need to finish tutorials

**Chapter 9: This is why you need to finish tutorial missions**

(Night)

(**[Field type] Dungeon - Tranquil Meadows** {F-rank})

(Konoha Camp)

"Okay, this is officially the weirdest thing I've seen today," Ino was heard saying with a disturbed look on her face.

"T-T-That's not being n-n-nice, Ino-san," Hinata stuttered back with a small frown.

"Please, Hinata-chan. You can't really tell me you can look at _that_ and you don't immediately think that something feels wrong," the Yamanaka rebottled while pointing at what was distressing her.

The sight in question that was one Naruko Uzumaki reading the spellbook she had earned previously this morning. However, as weird as it was to see the girl who once said books were tools of torture read it paled in comparison to seeing her studying actively and efficiently. All around the Uzumaki and her small portable desk they could see all manner of supplies like loose papers, notebooks, pencils and markers in a variety of colors, and every other possible drawing tool one could see a student use in school. Not only that but under the light of the desk lamp, the whiskered kept writing words, sentences, formulas, and diagrams that they couldn't make heads or tails about yet seemed to be perfectly comprehensible to the supposed _Dead Last_.

At one point the adults had tried to look at some of the formulas and diagrams that were around the girl. While they couldn't understand the words that seemed to explain them, they could see the formulas looked scientific. Neither of the jonin were as good as the people in R&D but they had been around the labs enough times to recognize the mathematical symbols and the abbreviation for chemical elements. As they observed, many of the formulas looked similar to the once used to understand the elements needed to create a jutsu or other elements however due to the language barrier they couldn't make out much of it.

Then adding to the weird factor of the Dead Last studying, more than once they saw the girl practicing what she was learning. An example of this was the whiskered girl making her hands glow a bright blue and moving or sustaining the energy in place while taking notes of it. Other shows of practice were her writing magic circles on paper, fueling it with power and lifting the circle off of the paper which was burned the material in the process. These circles, however, didn't last long as they either shattered or destabilized into small explosions that, given the Uzumaki's frown, showed that these were failures. However, after many tries, about 58 by Hinata's count, the jinchuriki managed to produce five consecutive stable versions of the simplistic looking sigils which floated around her.

"Reminds me of when I was learning new genjutsu back in my genin days," Kurenai commented with a nostalgic tone in her voice. However, the small smile this brought to her was soon turned into a frown as the crimson-eyed beauty remembered she and her superiors had learned about the students' time in the academy.

| _Flashback ~ Start ~_ |

"Okay, so it's not that people can't learn to control all of the elements but that the time needed to do so almost makes it impossible for most. Got it," Naruko said after the kage and jonin had explained to her some of the more complex information about elemental jutsu.

Once they had managed to wake up the Uzumaki from the knockout she suffered from briefly poking Hinata's chest the party decided to eat their meal. During this, the adults indulged in the awkward air that now existed between the Uzumaki and Hyuga who were now turned into a blushing mess whenever they caught the other staring. Ino also enjoyed that display for a while with a grin but after a few moments asked the adults if this was a good time to teach Naruko about the elemental chakras. This caused both the Sarutobi and Uzumaki to remember the promise and so they spent the remainder of dinner giving the lecture. At first, the Yamanaka and Hyuga princesses had tried to ignore what was being said thinking it would be a repeat of what they knew but it didn't take more than a couple of minutes for them to be entranced by their Hokage's voice.

Hiruzen, being the only teacher in the group, had long ago since learned how to give a lecture to three troublesome students. In three distinct and far of lands around the Elemental Nations the Sannin all sneezed in unison. This caused the experiment of one to blow up in his face, another to be found and beaten up by the kunoichis he had been spying/peeping on in a hot spring and the final one to lose another round of poker. Anyway, back in the camp, the old shinobi had put his experience to good used had managed to captivate the girls with his story-telling voice. Then he explained how the elements worked with, around or against each other, basic history of how the elements were found, how people usually train in them and all of this interlaced with stories of his and his students' experiences when it came to learning or using jutsu. During this, he also showed examples of these nature transformation techniques either by doing it himself or asking the jonin to do so.

"That's correct Naruko-san and to cement this fact to my knowledge only five people have managed to do so. Including myself these people are Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, Madara Uchiha and Mu the Nidaime Tsuchikage," the old Sarutobi explained and chuckled. "As you can imagine such a feat is very difficult and could put you in the running to be a kage. Now given that you've been such good listeners I think a prize is in order. Kakashi-kun, do you have any chakra paper on you?"

"Right here Hokage-sama," the cyclops said with the sheets of paper already in hand. The students, alongside the Benihime and Kurenai, had to blink at that seen neither hand seen the man move from where had been sitting. Come to think of it, they didn't seem him eat either but the three finished skewers by his feet told a different story.

'_When did he take off the mask?_' all the women asked themselves simultaneously. The cyclops seemed to have read their minds as he gave them an eye smile before handing everyone, including Benihime, a sheet of paper. Then he explained to the students that the paper was made from trees that were grown using chakra this way the paper created from them would react to even the slightest hint of chakra. To prove it he applied a bit of energy and the paper wrinkled between the jonin's fingers which he explained signaled he had a natural affinity to _lightning_. Next was Hiruzen whose paper burst into flames that just as quickly dissipated with the paper being reduced to ash which announced that the old man's primary element was _fire_. After this, the Hatake explained that for _wind_ the paper will split in half, _water_ would make it damp and earth would turn it into dirt that crumbles away.

It was here that Kurenai decided to show the girls her element. As expected, they all looked on in awe as the paper turned black with the expectation of a small white dot in the middle. This, she explained, was the element Yin or _darkness_ as others called it and one of the two elements outside of the main five with the second being its opposite Yang or _light_. This was followed by the raven-haired woman explaining that this was the reason why she had a natural affinity towards genjutsu. Yet it had the added cost of making it difficult to learn to use any of the others. Thankfully she managed to do so as mastering two elements was one of the major requirements to even qualify for the Jonin Exam.

That girls took the hint and knew they had a long road ahead of them. As such, they started with Ino whose paper wrinkled though the girl's smirk told them she had probably learned that at an earlier time. Next came Hinata's paper that became damp but unlike the Yamanaka, before her, they could hear the girl whisper to herself "I am a failure." Naruko frowned at this and placed a hand on the classmate's shoulder. The princess jumped at the sudden contact and turned to the orphan.

"Hey, don't say that. So, what if it wasn't the element you wanted? That doesn't mean you failed but that you now have other options. Take it from me! I keep trying and failing until I either succeed or find a way around the problem. Hence, you can do the same," Naruko finished with the biggest grin she could muster.

The little speech managed to bring a small smile to the Hyuga's lips that whispered a soft "T-T-Thank you," along with a blush-dusted face. This would have been an incredibly sweet moment if the Uzumaki's hand have not given a reassuring squeeze which let the blond feel the bluenette's bra. That fact made both girls remember the _incident_ and they quickly separate while competing over who could have the brightest blush. The redhead fairy found that hilarious given the giggling fit she went through that earned her a glare from her mistress.

"Sorry, Sorry. Anyway, I'll go next and then Naruko-chan as I theorize that we'll cause some discrepancies due to our access to magic," Benihime commented and then concentrated her energy on the paper. Just like the fairy had predicted the paper show none of the previous options as it started shining with green light and bright yellow cross (+) grew in the middle of the paper. "Yep, just like I thought. It recognized that am I a support unit but also the healing magic is my forte."

As everyone marveled at the fairy's show Naruko looked at her paper and channeled her chakra into it. Like with everyone else the item reacted in an instant but this time it split in half. With an exclamation of "Hey, I got wind!" she got everyone's attention however before anyone could comment the two pieces ignited into blue fire. The twin flames then shot out of the girl's hands to dance in the air above them in a circle as if trying to chase one another. Then the dance turned into a spiral funnel that descended unto the campfire which turned green as a result. Moments later the green flames rose and formed a circled that create a mirror facing them.

It was in this mirror that an image of a human clad in robe armor with its hood to conceal their face except for their glowing blue flamed eyes. Then the figure lifted their hands which were engulfed in barely restrained mana. In response, the elements themselves reacted to the person's call. The wind became a howling hurricane that leaves destruction in its wake. Lighting crackled into existence with a thunderous cry they could feel in their soul. The earth itself trembled as it rose into mountains that pierced the heavens. Water awakened into a raging tsunami that engulfs everything in its path. Finally, fire exploded into the very sun in the sky with a heat that turned everything to ash. Then the figure slammed their hands and the world became split into realms of nothingness except for one completely white and the other entirely black.

From that nothingness twin crescent moons were born; one black with white outlines and the other white with black outlines. Then the opposite elements became a staff for each moon and thus turning them into scythes fuelled with the powers their natural enemies. Upon their completion, the black scythe was given to a white figure and the white scythe to a black wielder. What followed next was a battle between nature itself as the figures attacked one another with every possible slash, thrust, swing or blast of energy they could muster for what felt like hours without giving an inch. Then it happened as one final clash between light and darkness caused an explosion that covered the world in white.

Next, as colored slowly returned to the world they once more saw the figure clad in robe armor. However, this time they were holding a white and black dual-blade scythe on their shoulders. The party completely transfixed on what they were seeing, gulped and waited with bated breath as the figure rose a finger to their lips. Then the robed human smirked and…

"Shhh."

And just like that, the magic mirror shattered into nothingness and the green fire turned back to its normal yellow-orange flare with the campfire returning to its normal form.

"That… That was certainly different," Kakashi commented after finally realizing the shown was down as abruptly as it began. "I am guessing that display was because of the chakra paper reacting to the mana in Uzumaki-san body correct?"

"Yes," Benihime responded before adding: "However since Naruko-chan does not have any of the requirements needed to understand what just happened I will not explain it. But what I will say is that what we just saw was a divining about the possible evolution of our leader's powers."

"What would be these requirements that Uzumaki-san need fulfill if I may ask?" Kurenai inquired. The fairy in turn responded:

"Well, first would be for her to learn the basics of magic and no **First-aid** doesn't count. This will be resolved by reading that spellbook. The next requirement is to have an _Intelligence_ stat of 50 or higher. Next is to learn at least one spell from each primary element. Then all that would be left is for her to reach Lv20."

"Four requirements and one of which that would normally be considered difficult for most jonin let alone an academy student," Hiruzen noted while scratching his chin. "This almost seems like the system is designed to make Naruko-chan have to gain the skills of a fully trained and seasoned shinobi before she even leaves the academy."

"At face value, it would seem like that, yes," Benihime answered and added: "However in practice, entry-level spells are mostly negligible in battle. For example, an Ember spell would be the same as hitting someone with a lit match. Sure it would hurt and light up if they're covered in an exalerent but one match can be turn off easily."

"I guess I better start training," the gamer commented while opening her status screen. There she used all of her free AP on raising her _INT_ which changed it from the miserable 8 to an 18. Doing so gave her a small headache as her brain pulsed but it only lasted for a moment. Then she pulled out a small portable desk from her inventory, set it up and turned on the battery-powered lamp to help read the book.

"Wait a moment Naruko-chan," the Hokage called out and stopped the girl before she could start. "Before you start why don't we start about what you've studied in the academy? Given how they did not teach you about the elements we need to know what other things they may have neglected."

The Uzumaki made a sour face but didn't fight it. She did, however, asked for the princesses to help out as she had the title of _Dead Last_ for various reasons. Thus, started a retelling of the material the students' education throughout their lives at the academy.

As the girls talked the adults learned that while the history and knowledge about their nation were well documented the same could not be said about other nations. When it came to Sunagakure, their biggest ally, it was just sporadically mentioned to the point either of the girls could barely name one of the Kazekages by name if at all. Then when it came to the information of the other nations, things got a lot worse as they could hardly remember important facts about them or their hidden villages.

For example, neither Ino or Naruko knew about Kumagakure's tendency to kidnap kunoichi or very young girls for their bloodlines. Then they would either convince or force them into joining so they could breed more ninja with special abilities. At first, neither of them could believe such a thing could happen until Hinata, reluctantly, told them about what happened to her when she was younger. The Yamanaka princesses gasped in horror and hug her classmate in support. Naruko, on the other hand, choose to remain quiet but everyone could see her fist trembling and her eyes had turned purple that was bleeding into a violent red.

Thankfully the kage change to subject towards the other villages. Things still didn't get any better as no mention was made of their greatest enemy Iwagakure, the highly industrial Amegakure or even Kirigakure that was currently embroiled in a civil war. Not even the document fact of the _Bloody Mist's_ practice of having its academy students kill each other at the end of their school life as their Genin Exam was mentioned.

"Please," the Sarutobi begged through gritted teeth "Tell me that you at least know of our ally Uzushiogakure, the noble sacrifices Uzumaki Clan did during the Second Great Shinobi War and the reason why we wear their crest on our flak jacket."

"**I**/she **have**/has a clan?"

| _Flashback ~ End ~ _|

Kurenai felt a shiver at remembering the explosive amount of pressure released by the old kage and the jinchuriki. Thankfully they managed to calm themselves before the heiresses were left unconscious. After that, both angered individuals refuse to talk to anyone which resulted in the kage talking a walk and Uzumaki putting her all into studying magic. That had been about two hours ago and enough time for the sun to go down.

"Hey, Yuhi-san," the woman heard her senpai called out. Turning her head, she found the Copy Ninja but her eye started to twitch rapidly as she saw the book he was reading. "Did you notice that during the girl's story there were a few common points?"

"You mean besides the blatant disregard for Uzumaki-san's education for almost everyone but Unimo-san and Suzume-san?" she inquired back with a raised eyebrow. Then her frown deepened "Yes and I sure Uzumaki-san noticed it after recounting it to us. It seems that the Chunin Mizuki and the principal like to remind the teachers of what they need to teach the students bases on the schedule. A schedule that seems designed to neglect or forget about a lot of essential material needed to function outside of the _Land of Fire_. Seriously, you would think to tell them "Hey, you see does ninja with mountains on their forehead protectors? Those are our enemies so treat lightly," would be something of importance."

"True, but I more worried about something we didn't ask them," the cyclops commented. However, he noticed some bit of confusion on his fellow jonin's face as she tried to figure it out. As a hint, he shook his book a bit and her eyes widen immediately.

"No… that can't be…" the Genjutsu Mistress tried to deny in horror as she looked at the three kunoichi hopefuls. Then she gulped and looked back with the senior jonin with a remarkably pale look. "Do you think it's possible they wouldn't have taught them about _that_, right?"

"Yamanaka-san and Uzumaki-san did seem surprised at the prospect of a woman being forced into such a position." The cyclops tried to sound casual but even the man's normally calm and seemingly uncaring voice could not hide the gravity of the situation.

He remembered very clearly during his time in the academy that a considerable amount of time was given to prepare the kunoichi against some of the worst aspects of humans when it came to a captured female. Thankfully it was not something barbaric like making the kunoichi experience the act at the hands of an ally like in the _Warring States Era_. Still, there was a level of exposure by having the girls hear or read anonymous medical reports or victim statements as well as seeing pictures or hearing audio of those horrible situations. This didn't make it any less traumatizing for the children but at least told them what would happen to them if they didn't take it seriously. As an added effect these courses help eliminate the ones who had no hope of surviving the cruelties they would experience out in the field. Something that could turn into a blessing for both the person and the village as more often the people who couldn't handle that possible threat could end up working on other aspects like the R&D apartment.

However, the fact that two of these kunoichi hopefuls, already in their last months, couldn't fathom a fellow woman being in a position of being seen as a breeding cow did not sit well with either jonin.

"Tomorrow alongside Sandaime-sama, we'll have to ask them about their sexual education," Kakashi announced after a brief silence. Kurenai was about to agree even if the subject would be highly uncomfortable for the preteens when they heard a book slam shut. Blinking they turned to Naruko who had her spellbook close between her hands. At the same time, they could see her eyes glowing with chakra that gradually increased in intensity. Then in a flash the Uzumaki's eyes turned into a raging blue inferno yet the girl remained collected as she took a slow calming breath. Right after this, he dropped headfirst into her desk like a puppet without strings.

"Naruko-kun!" Hinata was heard yelling before the bluenette materialized beside the blond faster than even Kakashi could track. The princess in a panic lifted the gamer to see what was wrong, only to be met with the face of a sleeping angel. Call it a spiritual awakening or whatever but at that moment Hinata's Byakugan had never seen something so beautiful in her life. Originally, she had activated her eyes to see what was wrong but instead found a thriving and evolving chakra network connected to those blazing blue eyes. '_I feel… like… if I got… closer..._'

"Hey! Are both okay?" The princess jumped once she felt the voice and hand calling to her attention. After turning off her bloodline, she looked and found Ino looking back at her worried. "Sheesh, don't scare us like that! While you were panicking Benihime told us that Pumpkin over there just knocked herself out from overusing her brain reading. She would be okay by tomorrow morning. So please don't go into shock over nothing."

"S-S-Sorry" Hinata muddled while looking back at the sleeping girl. There she had to bite her lip after noticing noticed that Naruko's eyelids had a soft blue light under the lids with gentle chakra smoke escaping out of the sides. '_W-W-What was t-t-that I just f-f-felt? I-I-It was like my eyes w-w-were trying to l-l-learn how her c-c-chakra moves. But why? The Byakugan c-c-can't copy jutsu like the Sharingan as f-f-far as I k-k-know._'

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

(Morning)

Hiruzen had gotten back just a little after Naruko passed out and was informed about the reason. He took that as a sign for the girls to go rest and after producing sleeping bags he sent them to bed. After this, the adults took shifts to guard the camp but thankfully it was an uneventful night with only birds and small animals moving about. Then morning came which brought with it a revitalized Uzumaki who found Kurenai as the guard. After morning pleasantries the girl explained she had to do her morning workout before breakfast which the jonin accepted as a good work ethic.

By the time everyone else woke up, which was probably an hour or so later, the kunoichi felt like a lazy bum. The Uzumaki had said this was supposed to be a light morning exercise but from what the crimson-eye woman had seen it was more like a marathon meant to break the participants. She knew she wasn't as physically fit as others given her specialization in illusions but this was the first time it made her feel inadequate. The same thing happened to Ino and Hinata when they woke up to see the girl in an orange sports bar and shorts doing one-handed pushups. Though it did have the added effect of showing them that a woman with muscles could look desirable if their slacked jaws and blushing faces were anything to go by.

"At least Gai remembered she's a novice," they heard Kakashi say and in surprise turned to see him already up and cooking them breakfast.

About an hour later they had finished what they could of their morning routines, eat, packed up and left the forest. At this point, they asked what they would be doing today which caused a bit of surprise to the party as the Uzumaki gave the power of leadership to the Hokage. This was to show them that she was willing to work with others and thanks to this the trip towards the tower would be more direct. Though the girl did lament that she would not be getting any more materials since she still couldn't make clones.

"What are you talking about? Clones aren't tangible," Ino asked with a confused face which was mirrored Naruko's after the question.

"But Mizuki-sensei showed me how the jutsu worked. He even… showed them… holding hands…" the girl started before a look of realization dawned on her face. This was quickly obscured by a facepalmed and a growl of frustration "That snake in the grass stick licker fooled me with an optical illusion."

"W-W-Why would M-M-Mizuki-sensei do that?" questioned Hinata since she couldn't think of why the teacher would do something so detrimental to her classmate. In response the girl muttered:

"Oh, I'm sure it's the same one everyone has. But I'll make sure he will pay for this; oh, he will pay. Hehehe, I'll make sure that there will be a reckoning." The cackle which followed this promise could only be described as evil and Ino wisely stepped away from the smaller blond. The adults and Hinata, on the other hand, noted that this was another instance in a long line of evidence of the white-haired chunin sabotaging the student's progress. Therefore, that declaration fell on deaf ears since they couldn't expect karma to do all of the work. Thus, the group proceeded towards the tower though this time they did so at shinobi speed as a way to test the young trainees' stamina now they were fully charged.

Not surprisingly but still frown upon Ino was the first to become too tried even though they were moving at a pace no faster than a mid-level genin. Seeing the girl almost fall flat on her face made Naruko summon a two-wheeled rickshaw from her inventory. Then she pulled it to run pass the Yamanaka, grab the girl, threw her on the sit and kept running while pulling the cart. This, understandably, made all of the humans and fairy look at the Uzumaki weirdly.

"What? I won it in a bet three weeks ago. May as well use it now that I can carry it with me whenever. Also, surprise, my inventory can carry things bigger than me without me feeling their weight at all. Though I still haven't tested out what is the largest or heaviest thing I can put in it."

Taking note of the information that a small girl could end up working as a living warehouse should her ninja career not pan out the group kept running. It was about an hour later when Hinata started showing signs of fatigue and on Naruko's suggestion changed places with Ino who everyone agreed had rested enough. Regretfully the Yamanaka's lack of stamina stroke again as she didn't last more than 30 minutes before she started lagging. Unsurprisingly the Uzumaki huffed while muttering something about weak legs before throwing the fangirl into the rickshaw and telling her to stay there. After this, the Uzumaki asked the adults if it was possible for them to run faster because she wanted to test out how fast she could go. In response, the jonin nodded and picked up their pace which left the students in the dust.

"Great, Now I feel both insulted and ashamed of my performance. Thanks for that Pumpkin," the mind walker commented from her seat as she saw the adult's back getting further and further away.

"Hey," Naruko called out to her passengers. "It's possible to increase your physical performance like your running speed by applying chakra to the required muscles, correct?"

"Y-Y-Yes, Naruko-kun..." Hinata stuttered out which earned her a chuckle that made both passengers shiver.

This was especially so when they heard "Better hold on then!" from their driver. On instinct, they grabbed the handles and each other while the Yamanaka yelled for the Uzumaki to not do something stupid. The possible threat fell on deaf ears as they fell the buildup of chakra around the girl as it concentrated into her legs.

[Due to repeated use of chakra manipulation into the legs the **Dash** function has been unlocked. At the cost of 25mp per second the player's AGI will be doubled.]

That small window was all the warning they got before Naruko's gained a burst of speed that while nowhere near enough to pass the trained ninja it was enough to catch up to them. Thankfully at their new pace, they managed to reach the Watchtower before the minute mark as the technique managed to almost drain the Uzumaki dry. This was something everyone noted given how much the girl was panting and that her MP bar was almost empty.

"You okay, Uzumaki-san?" Kurenai questioned after they stop at the tower's base.

"Yeah, _***pant***_ It's just _***pant* **_that this the first _***pant***_ time I used that _***pant***_ much chakra. _***pant***_ Just give me a minute." Naruko answered while laying on her back. Though what surprised the women was the satisfied grin of a job well done plastered on the girl's face. It seemed even the sweat pouring from her brow wasn't bothering her as Benihime fanned her with a paper fan as big as the fairy herself. As for the passengers, they got down from their cart and thanked the girl for her work and asked if she needed anything. "Hehehe, water _***pant***_ would be good. _***pant***_"

"Here," Kurenai said while handing her a full canteen and helping her sit. The girl took it and drank just two gulps so she wouldn't empty the can. She didn't know where the nearest source of clean water was so they needed to conserve their reserves. After handing the bottle back she managed to get up and look at the structure providing them with shade and whistled.

"That's definitely taller than the wall back in the academy," the whiskered student commented with her fairy companion, no seating on her lap, nodding in agreement.

"True," Hiruzen agreed with a chuckle and added: "Still, between using the **Wall Walking Exercise** and the platforms at its side climbing this tower will be a rather easy affair."

"Sorry to say but that's not going to happen any time soon." Hearing the blue-eyed jinchuriki say this caused everyone to look at her in confusion. After getting everyone's attention she sighed and said "I just tried to use **Scan** on this thing and I got an error message. Something tells me that it has a magic nullification field around it. If you don't believe me, try to mold chakra or do a jutsu." Following the girl's advice, everyone tried to do basic chakra practice but nothing came out. They could still feel the energy inside themselves but it was like a glove was over them that stopped the chakra from being expelled. Hinata did manage to turn on her Byakugan but had to turn it off almost immediately as everything became white and black static while also giving her a short headache.

"Your intuition is correct Naruko-chan," Benihime announce while looking up at her mistress. "I tried scanning the tower as well and got a warning saying that there is an antimagic field present which restricts many of my functions. Chief among them would be my ability to fly, which is why I'm now wingless as you can see."

"So that's why your wings don't touch your back," Naruko commented as she stood up with the fairy safely in her hands. Then she put the Navi on her shoulder and asked: "Considering I'm the one who gets the quest it would be safe to assume that this one can only be completed if I get the top corrected?"

"Yes, though that does not stop you from having someone help you get to the top," the red-haired fairy answered. Kurenai, already proving her protectiveness over the students, was about to tell the girl to rest when she noticed the small blonde wasn't out of breath. This made her take a harder look and found that not only was Naruko breathing steadily but her posture was relaxed. About the only thing that showed the jinchuriki had been running was the sheen of sweat on her and even that was what remained as the was no longer producing the cooling liquid.

'_Impossible! It's as if she recovered all of her stamina in seconds. Is this part of her being a jinchuriki or this weird bloodline limit of hers?_' the Yuhi questioned to herself in wonder.

The Hokage, for his part, had also noticed this and agreed to let the whiskered student climb the tower but with the help of Kakashi. Following that order, the _Copy Ninja_ produced the needed climbing gear from a sealing scroll and help Naruko put on her harness. Then he grabbed the grappling hook, gave it a few swings and threw it a right above the first platform which caught itself perfectly on the mesh fence that covered the tower. Three strong pulls later he declared it to be secure enough for them to climb.

"Hey, wait," Naruko called out before they started. Then she threw a grin towards Ino and Hinata that at least the taller blond did not like. "I don't know how long it will take Hatake-sensei and I to climb this so why not take the time to train my classmates. I, for one, would love to see them get stronger and that is all but assured if they're under the supervision of the Hokage."

The kage chuckle at this but agreed much the young kunoichis' disbelief. After that, the two climbers and fairy started their trip up the tower while ignoring the girls now doing workout routines. At first it there was silence between the two as they reach the first platform and continued through the second platform in the spiral formation they were made placed in. However, halfway through the third platform Naruko finally talked.

"Hatake-san. You were the student of the Yondaime, correct?"

"Yes, why do you ask? Want to see if I can teach you some of his jutsu?" the cyclops asked as child up.

"While that would be awesome, I have to say no for now," she chuckled at now possibly having that option. "No, what I wanted to ask was if you knew my mother, Kushina Uzumaki? You know, since he was helping her with my birth and all. Jiji told me they were friends so I thought that maybe you knew her in passing or maybe she helps your team on a mission."

"I did know Kushina-san," Kakahi commented and even if he tried to be casual the nostalgic tone of good memories could be heard. "She was… a hard woman to forget. Powerful, beautiful, made wielding a sword look like an art form and a prodigy all her own when it came to _Sealing Arts_. Though the last part was hard to believe given that no one but her and maybe Minato-sensei could understand her notes."

"Are _Sealing arts_ what they use to make _Explosive Tags_ and _Storage Scroll_? Sorry, they didn't teach us that in the academy."

"For once the academy didn't fail you as even in my time, they didn't teach about how to make seals. Regretfully **Seal Crafting** has become something of a lost art relegated to repeating rudimentary seals like elemental traps, light enchantments or the storing units that ninja can buy or if need be get from the village armory. At this point, only a few dedicated practitioners can do the more complex seals and fewer still can invent new seals. Your mother was one such person as more than once I saw her create complex formulas that did all manner of things. Though a lot of the times it was so she wouldn't have to do something she considered boring."

"An example of these being?" she asked after they got to the platform and threw the grappling hook towards the next.

"Well out of the top of my head I would say it was the house cleaning array. I never saw her make it but from what sensei told me, Kushina-san got into a drinking contest with Tsunade-sama and lost badly. After that, they brought her home so she could sleep it off but she was too drunk to sleep. So, she sang and danced the night away to a tune only she knew. Then in the morning sensei found her passed out on the kitchen covered in slashes of ink, three brushes in each hand, her hair braided into eight more brushes and the entire interior of the house 2,568 activated seals. It took us about a week to write everything on paper to try and see just what Kushina-san had done in her drunken state. Turns out all we could make out was "Die dust bunnies!" over and over again when we finally managed to arrange the seals in a somewhat legible format."

"Something tells me you guys were never able to recreate what mom did," Naruko commented with a grin at hearing about that frankly silly adventure. Kakashi's chuckle joined her merriment at the situation as he confirmation of her assumption for how that resulted. Though it was a bit of a shame, a seal like that one would have made a killing for housewives and new mothers with their energetic little hell spawns/angels running around the house.

"Hey, Hatake-san. Do you think it would be possible for you to teach me **Seal Crafting**? Well, if it's not too much to ask that is," the jinchiriki asked while they continue climbing. The _Copy Ninja_ for his part eye smiled down at her given that this was finally his chance at getting to know the girl that could have been his little sister or niece had that horrible night not happen.

"Sure, I could help you with the basics but I have to warn you. I have failed all of my previous students because they didn't have what it takes."

He had tried to scare the girl with that to see if what she would do but when he looked down the Hatake's eyes meet the determined look of the Uzumaki's blue gaze. It was clear that the small student had taken that as a challenge much like her parents would have and made the silver-hair jonin smile.

'_You would be proud of her. Sensei. Kushina-san,_' he thought and continued to climb.

"Hey, wait a minute!" the jonin suddenly heard coming from the blonde. "No one ever told me what was in the treasure chest!"

"Oh, that? Turnouts it was a bounty of 5000 gold for everyone and a set of gloves called _Thief Gloves_ that Benihime-san up into your inventory." The nonchalant tone of the jonin didn't stop the girl from nearly slipping from the information.

'_Just how much money can I make thanks to this bloodline?!_' the girl asked herself in surprise at the insane amount of money.

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

(half an hour later)

(Top of the watchtower)

With one final grunt, Naruko pulled herself up onto the top platform of the spiral tower where Kakashi was waiting for her. After taking a couple of calming breaths she looked around and was struck in awe over how high in the air she was. The jonin, who looked around with her, commented that this tower was probably the same high as the wall surrounding the village. Give that Naruko could almost see everything on the surface of the dungeon and the fog that surrounding at its very edges the Uzumaki didn't see a reason to contradict that assumption. Then the pair heard a clicking sound and quickly turned around with weapons drawn. However instead of an enemy or a trap what met them was a pedestal that lights up and created a screen with two handprints on it.

"Place your hand on it _***yawn***_ and the quest will be completed," Benihime explained drowsily from her mistress's shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Naruko questioned while softly cradling the small creature in her hands. In response, the fairy yawned again and curled up to sleep before speaking.

"Sorry, the antimagic field as if very strong here and since I need MP to remain functioning my body is going into sleep mode," the redhead answered her worried owner before adding: "Just place your hand on the screen. The data transfer will commence and the barrier will be shut down."

With those final words, the wingless fairy fell silent with only the steady breathing showing she was sleeping. The gamer nodded a thank you to her small companion and gently handed her to the Kakashi's waiting hands. After this, the blond walked over to the pedestal and placed her hands on the screen. The effect was immediate as her mind went blank before she sees a pencil appear and start drawing the map of the entire meadow. From Kakashi's point of view, things were different once the girl places her hands on the information hub. For starters, he could see blue veins like lines shining below the skin of Naruko's hands while her eyes had turned completely blue with small white letters, numbers, and symbols crawling up or down in five lines over the blue background. Next, he saw the outside of the tower turn into a green chain link mesh barrier that started to burn itself away.

[**Climb the tower (COMPLETED)**]

[Rewards:

\- The full map of the Tranquil Meadows unlocked

_\- Markers_ can now be placed on the map]

[Markers - as the name suggests can be used to mark a special area one wishes to explore or a destination on desires to reach. Once the marker is placed on the map it will appear as a pillar of light on the world that only users and be extension their party can see. Thanks to this even if the party gets separated, they can regroup by walking towards this light. Note, markers will disappear if: (1) everyone in the party reaches it, (2) the user dispels it on the map or (3) the user enters an area with a strong jamming signal.]

After that massage both the dispersing of barrier and the downloading of the map was finished in seconds. Though it did take Naruko a moment to regain her vision as she blinked the bit of pain away. At the same time, Benihime's wings sprouted back to life which made her wake up and start to float again as she yawned. The silver-haired jonin was about to congratulate them on a job well done when chimes rang out. This was followed by another screen appearing.

[**Special Reward!**]

[Due to being the first players to climb this tower since it was abandoned you will each be awarded special gifts. Please open the chest provided to claim your reward. NOTE: It matters not which chest you choose as your gift has already been decided.]

Just as they finished reading the text, they heard two wooden _thunk_ sounds and looked to see two small wooden chests now laying in front of them. The adult looked at the child with a questioned look only to get an "It's a videogame thing," and a shrug as a response. Thus, he relented and went to open the chest she didn't take.

**{Special Items}**

_Wing tattoo (Faded)_

Description - Once this magically infused ink tattoo had the power to give its wearer the ability to sore through the skies like the Valkyries of legend. However, years of neglect and natural decay of mana has caused its magic to weaken to the point it can barely lift its user of the ground for more than five seconds.

\- Unlocks **Double Jump**

\- Unlocks **Dive Kick**

\- Unlocks **Hover** (Duration is only 5sec.)

\- Gives the user full control of their direction of the fall so long as it's in a cardinal direction.

_Parachute (Pakkun decal)_

Description - a device used to slow down the motion of a falling object by creating drag. Commonly light but strong fabric is used to maintain the safety of the user. That fabric of this parachute is infused high-grade mana to make it nearly indestructible to most conventional weapons or attacks. NOTE: After the object or user has landed safely the storage sigils on the backpack will fold and retract the parachute into itself so it will be ready for the next deployment. Also, thanks to these sigils mechanical failure or faulty maintenance are taken out of the equation.

"Well, these are certainly a pair of unique items," Kakashi commented after reading the description of the backpack. Then he grabbed it and, in a flash, he now knew exactly how to use the item due to the short tutorial video that played in his head. "Okay, _that_ was a weird experience."

"You'll get to use it after enough times," Naruko commented while holding the fade wings encased in a clear mana orb. The wings themselves looked simplistic and amateurish single line design. Also, just like the description said, she could feel the magic inside the tattoo but it was very weak as if was dying. Still, she shrugged and equip the special accessory on her back. Not a second after the click the jinchuriki had to grit her teeth to stop the scream as her back exploded in what felt like living flames. Thankfully the sensation didn't last more than a second. After which she took off her jacket and lift her shirt to show the Jonin her bareback who confirmed that the tattoo was painted on her back.

"Congratulations on finishing your mission you two! Now let's celebrate by taking your prizes for a test drive," Benihime exclaimed with a grin.

"Beni-chan," Naruko started with a disturbed face "As enthusiastic as I am to test out a new power, and I am, I don't think **Double Jump** will save me from falling from this height. I mean, sure I'm a video character but even I'm not dumb enough to think gravity doesn't apply to me."

"True but if you jump again at a safe height the second jump will cancel any G-force you were under and in turn, you'll just feel the fall from this new hoop," the Navi explained to the humans which renewed the younger own spirits but the older one was not convinced. Understandably he voiced his concerns about simply jumping over the railing on the blind fate that these new items would save them. In response, the fairy said: "Worry not Hatake-san. One of my primary functions is to keep Naruko Uzumaki alive so she can reach her true potential whatever it may be. Also, if she dies so will I hence it's in my best interest to keep her alive."

"I trust Beni-chan, sensei. We may have only met for less than a week but right now I trust her more than anyone," the Uzumaki vouched for her partner. Seeing the conviction and trust in the girl's eyes made the jonin wish for the time when he hadn't learned that trust was a commodity.

'_Still, Naruko's bloodline has shown that anything could be possible here. Plus, the item description explicitly mentions the parachute can't fail and the tutorial played back enough times that using it became second nature to me, weird as it is._' the silver-haired man thought to himself before sighting and agreeing to the girls' crazy plan. He had to shake his head at the thumbs up and grins they gave him but he still put on the backpack. Then they walked over the railing and looked down at where the other party members would be located.

"You know, I always liked high places. Guess that's part of being a wind elemental due to the whole being closer to the wind and all that jazz."

"At least you're not a pyromaniac."

"Bah, starting fires is weak. The real art is in making explosions." Regretfully for the adult's sanity, the girl took a running leap over the railing with a "FOOOOR RAAAAMEEEEN!" before he could even ask what she meant.

"Sensei, that girl may look like you but she is 100% Kushina-san's daughter," he sighed before jumping after her. He could already tell this girl was going to bring a new age to this world and he really hoped that the chaos of having an Uzumaki at the helm would be kept to a minimum. Thankfully having known both Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki taught him to not keep his hopes up when it came to that particular matter.

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

(Moments before)

(Base of the watchtower)

"I truly hope this isn't an indication of the state of your other classmates Yamanaka-san," the Hokage plead with clear disappointment in his voice.

"Sorry _***pant***_ Hokage-sama," Ino panted out from the ground as she tried to catch her breath.

Just like the old shinobi agreed with Naruko's suggestion, he had put both girls through training. Said training was exactly the kind of regiment you would anticipate from a military comprised of super-powered soldiers that were expected to cross mountain ranges with less then a day or fight 1 vs. 10 if needed. Safe to Ino couldn't even finish a quarter of the work-out the old shinobi had set them out to do. The disappointment on the leader's eyes was a major blow to the heiress's pride. To make matters her classmate and the resident wallflower was succeeding in at least finishing the reaps. This was even if it looked like it was taking every last bit of the Hyuga's willpower to remain standing.

"I'll _***pant***_ make sure to _***pant***_ train more when we _***pant***_ get home," she promised with tears in her eyes from both exhaustion and the realization that she was weak. Even before today, Ino knew she couldn't compare to Naruko and almost all of the guys but not in her wildest dreams did think it was to the point it would disappoint the man who would be her employer in the near future. '_And then Hinata-chan, who people can practically forget exist, is not only stronger than me but able keep up with Hokage-sama's commands after that run we had. Dammit! Otou-san and Kaa-chan were right when they said I wouldn't be able to make it if I didn't set up my training. I promise for this point on I'll train as hard as I need to. Even if it means asking Naruko for help!_'

"FOOOOR RAAAAMEEEEN!"

"Huh?" was the thought on everyone's mind when they heard the yell.

Fearing what they already knew the party looked up to see an Uzumaki shaped missile heading their way. The first to react was Hiruzen who in less than a blink of an eye summoned a clone and quick succession both fired an elemental dragon. Both the water and earth serpentine dragons roared as they shot towards the falling gamer in a spiral formation that fused them in the new jutsu **Mud Dragon**. Naruko saw the incoming beast and even without her fairy telling her the blonde knew the jutsu had barely any power behind so would catch her without harm. This made the whisker girl smirk as it gave a chance to use that spell, she learned last night.

"_I force my will unto this world with my hand._ **Force Push!**" the novice-witch chanted. Then, for maximum effect, she made sure to channel about triple of the needed amount of mana to unleash the spell. As a result, a wall of kinetic energy three times her size explodes out of her right palm and smashes onto the dragon. The under-powered jutsu and over-fueled spell smashed into each other with the expected result of the mud crumbling into nothing much to the shock of everybody else. This shock was enough to stop the other from trying to save the plummeting jinchuriki.

Well, all but Hinata who in an explosion of adrenaline dashed towards the tower and ran up its side like it was solid ground. Then the bluenette jumped and tackled the smaller girl out of the air with the idea of using her own body to protect the falling blond. Naruko was only distracted form a moment due to this panic charged action but she recovered fast enough to flip them before they would crash. Then the Uzumaki cradled the Hyuga in her arms before unleashing her wings to activate the second jump. Thus, with a single flutter, the two young maidens jumped just before they hit the ground and gently floated back down as if nothing happened.

"Sorry Hime, but there's no reason to risk yourself for me today," Naruko commented with a charming grin directed at the girl in her arms. The heiress only took one look at that smile and let her body feel those strong arms holding it to buy a ticket straight to Yuri Dream Island.

"You did that one on purpose," the redhead fairy accused from the girl's shoulder.

"True but you can't blame me for wanting to see that smile of hers even if it only appears right before she faints," the blond revealed with a soft smile. Then she saw a large shadow however her and looked up to see that Kakashi had deployed his parachute to float his way down. It was here that the Uzumaki and the rest of the conscious party members managed to see the image of an orange pug with a ninja-headband stitched in the fabric. "Okay… that dog is just too cute."

"Yeah, I can see that in an ugly sort of way," the fairy commented with some jealousy in her voice.

Minutes later, after Kakashi landed and ran back to them with the parachute safely in the backpack, both climbers were in front of their leader to explain what happened. By the end of it, Hiruzen was both glad that they now had such useful tools on their hands and the rising urge to strangle the two for doing the previews stunt.

'_This almost feels like I'm teaching those three again,_' The Sarutobi thought as he remembered some similar events his students had put him through all of those years back. "Next time, because I can already tell this could become a habit, do _not_ go around and practice a new ability in a dangerous situation Naruko-chan. I don't care if you know how to use them from games or the items tell you it's a safe rule of thumb should always be to practice new skills in a safe and controlled environment. Do I make myself clear young lady?"

"Crystal clear Hokage-sama," the jinchuriki agree and gave a bow while letting her wings out to float off of the group just a few inches.

"I can't believe you can fly now. I understand bloodlines almost always make its bearer stronger one way or another but yours is too much," Ino complained while looking at the transparent silhouette of dove wings attached to the whiskered girl's back. Out of curiosity, she was about to touch them but the mana holding them together depleted and they shattered into sparkling dust as the Uzumaki landed on her feet. '_Wow, it feels warm._'

"I can't fly Ino. The wings are too weak for that so they only let me jump higher and further," the shorter blonde explained before asking "So what are we doing now? I'm up for some training or maybe some sparing. Thanks to my _**Practice Mode**_ we could fight all out without actually kill each other."

"Just remember that everyone is still susceptible to dislocations, fractures and broken bones. So, try to avoid those types of attacks on your friends," Benihime remained to the party members. "Now, Hinata-san and Ino-san please stand side by side so I can restore your stamina."

"Wait, since when could you heal stamina?" Naruko questioned and the fairy chuckled.

"**Saving Grace** remember? When I said I could use any healing spell to keep the player alive it included stamina restoration too," the small creature announced with a satisfied grin. Then waited for the girls to get into place after which she summoned the need green colored magic sigil around them. "_Let the winds of relaxation comfort you in its soft embrace._ **Second Wind!**"

With that chant, the two heiresses felt revitalized as energy returned to them and their muscles relaxed as if they were getting a full-body managed. Then the light of the magic disappeared along with any fatigue their body may have accumulated. The fairy for her part started lowering her flight height as exhausting set in. Already knowing that would happen Naruko was there to catch her companion and gently proceeded to restore the Navi's MP.

"Impressive skill. Would it be out of the question to think Naruko-chan can learn this spell?" the Hokage inquired while already imagining the sort of boon having such a restorative jutsu at hand would be for a team needing to escape. Then his mind was swift to remind him what would happen if the girl ends up in Danzo's hands. '_Each day I question the reason why I let that bastard live._'

"Yes, Naruko-chan could learn that skill but she would need to reach Intermediate Level mastery with actual restorative magic. Regretfully the only way to do that is to continuously heal people that are either gravely injured or are about to open death's door. On the plus side, that would unlock the White Mage/Priestess line of jobs."

"Which would mean I lose access to any advance attack spells and my ability to use higher-level weapons since healers are relegated to using either to maces, enchanted staffs or their bare hands. Yeah, I'm all for helping people but I rather stick to using the healing potions I make or buy. Which now that I think about is another skill I have to practice," the Uzumaki announced before muttering "Stupid **Clone Jutsu**. If you weren't an illusion I would have it practice making them."

The jonin all managed to hear this but only the men thought about the **Shadow Clone Jutsu** since only they had gotten to see the girl's mother use it. They filed this for a later date/experiment and proceeded to start the training match. Theorizing the Yamanaka may not be a challenge for the Uzumaki even in their current state they decided to the jonin decided on the other possible match-up. Hearing this Naruko was about to cheer in excitement when she noticed the Hyuga looked both alarmed and reluctant.

"Hey, what's wrong, Hinata-chan?" the Uzumaki asked the Hyuga who tried to shy away from them. Not having any on it the smaller girl grabbed her slightly taller friend by the shoulders and look up straight into her eyes. "Hinata, what is wrong? Why don't you want to fight?" Regretfully the questions only seemed to make the bluenette try to hide harder and refused to look at her. Thus, the whiskered gamer gently grabbed the Byakugan user's face and moved so there would be no choice but for them to see eye to eye. "Hinata, forget about everything else and just focus on me. I promise you if something is bothering, I'll help."

Hinata for her part was feeling both terrified and cloud nine at being the center of attention of the small Uzumaki. It hadn't even been 24 hours since the lavender eyed female learned what a lesbian was, that Naruko was one and the bluenette could be one given the feelings the blond seemed to invoked in her yet here she was being caressed by that very person. The poor Hyuga wanted to run or at the very least faint again but those cerulean pools looked at her with so much concern that Hinata felt compelled to speak her deepest secrets.

"I'm… w-w-weak," the wallflower mumbled so softly it could have been mistaken for a mouse sneezing. Thankfully Naruko did hear her and softly smiled with understanding before she used her other hand to frame Hinata's face. Then used her thumbs, she dried the unshed tears that were building on the edges of those beautiful lavender pools.

"Don't say that Hime," Naruko started with a tone full of caring and understanding "Trust me when I say you aren't weak. I know what weak looks like because I had days were, I wake up and utterly hate the image in the mirror. It's because of this that I, Naruko Uzumaki, know that you, Hinata Hyuga, are not weak. Even of this bloodline of mine just confirms it.

Sure, it may just look like meaningless numbers but in my eyes, you are a Lv24 warrior. To a simple Lv3 novice like me it's like I'm standing in the face of a legend. Therefore facing an opponent that's eight times my level would be not only a challenge but an incredible honor. Hinata-chan, I don't know nor will I pretend to know what you have gone through to make you think you're weak but what I do know is that you're holding back your potential. However, now you have me to help you unlock it and together we can show the world that we are not the weaklings and losers it made us think we are.

So, what do you say? Want to finally go wild in a fight and give it everything you got in a situation where there will be no repercussions?" After finishing the pep talk Naruko gave Hinata her best friendly and encouraging grin. Seeing such sincerity was the undoing of the bluenette was done for.

'_How can she do that to me? How can she just talk or smile and make me feel like everything will be alright? Is… Is this what it feels like… to like someone? No Naruko-kun is a girl…_' Hinata thought and then her eyes landed once more on the face of the pretty Uzumaki. She found it was impossible to resist her own smile '_Guess… I guess there's no helping it… I like Naruko-kun… Otou-sama and the elders must never find out. I'm already a disgrace to them anyway no need give them more ammunition._'

"Okay… I'll spar with you, Naruko-kun." the lavender eyed agreed with a tiny smile that someone matched the radiant grin the whiskered blonde had.

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

**Author's Note:**

Sorry it took so long to update. Hope you like it and that this one helps understand a little more on how they messed with Naruko's education.


	10. When the Boss music starts

**Chapter 10: When the Boss music starts**

(Day)

(**[Field type] Dungeon - Tranquil Meadows** {F-rank})

(Base of the watchtower)

"Are you both ready?" Kakashi asked as the acting referee to the two kunoichi-in-training. To his right was Naruko doing small hoops before taking a standard boxer stance. Then on his left was Hinata taking the classic Gentle Fist stance. Floating beside him was Benihime as a support referee. Behind him was the rest of the party to spectate the coming spar.

"Of course, I am. Don't want to keep a lady waiting," Naruko announced with an energetic grin.

"Hai," Hinata answered just above the hearing range.

"BEGIN!"

At his call, Naruko activated **Dash** to reach her opponent faster than the Hinata could have predicted. Not having a chance to active her family's bloodline limit the princess was relegated to defense. It was only thanks to her fighting style being more defensive and counter base that the bluenette was able to withstand the onslaught. The heiress gave it her all to dodge, weave, parry or deflect the seemingly infinite barrage of jabs, swings, and uppercuts coming her way. Then the blonde tried a roundhouse kick to the Hyuga's head that was blocked by a raised arm but it was still enough to push the taller girl a few inches away.

After this Naruko jumped back with frowned on her lips as she looked at her opponent. Sure, almost none of her attacks landed and the ones that did were at most glances but the Uzumaki felt something was wrong. Then she finally looked at the girl's eye and got a little frustrated.

"Why are your eyes normal? I fought a Hyuga named Neji and during that short confrontation, his eyes change to look like a broken mirror. I've also seen your eyes do that during the few times I looked at you fighting the monsters. So, I asked again: why are your eyes normal?" the Uzumaki asked at the surprised Hyuga.

"I…" Hinata started but bit her lip as her weakness was already showing. '_Even after she tried to help me. I'm so weak,_' she berated herself before saying "I'm sorry… Unlike Neji-niisama I c-c-can't activate m-m-my Byakugan without the h-h-hand signs."

"Then do them," the whiskered girl called out. "I don't care how long it takes or how many times we need to stop for you activate it again but it will be done. I want to fight you at your best Hinata-chan not a version of you with her metaphorical hand tied behind her back."

Self-doubt filled lavender meet cheering cerulean and Hinata felt just a bit more assured of herself. Normally at this point, her father would have been berating her lack of skill but here Naruko was telling her that she didn't care about the wait. Thus, the heiress went through the need hand signs as quickly as she could and activated her Byakugan.

During her time in this dungeon, Hinata had noticed her eyes were becoming sharper little by little whether it was while they were active or not. When the bloodline limit was deactivated her eyes were picking up more details about the world around her. It was almost like someone with bad eyesight was given eyeglass for the first time. Then when the Hyuga clan's birthright was unleashed the girl noticed with each activation it kept getting stronger. For the first few battles, the monsters just looked like a mass of chakra in the vague shape of the creature. Hinata had thought was normal considering this dungeon was created by using the chakra of the world which somehow Naruko's Gamer Soul could access.

Still, she had not thought much of it given that her fighting style dispatched the enemies very easily to an almost disturbing degree. This was part of the reason Naruko never noticed her fight much as a single tap obliterated the chakra constructs like a rock shattering glass. But then little by little the Byakugan seem to adjust or maybe evolve with each fight as slowly Hinata started to see lines instead of raging fires. The first time this happened had nearly caused a wolf to bite her neck but thankfully reflex had kicked in as she threw a jab to the animal's neck which killed it. This event had made Hinata curious which made her concentrate more on those lines during each fight. It only took about two fights the Hyuga to realize she was seen the creatures' chakra pathways and that soon the Byakugan's regular blue and black x-ray vision was restored.

Now since Naruko provided her the needed time Hinata was able to make all of the required hand signs to activate her bloodline those at full strength. What happened next surprised Hinata as not only could she now see through the girl's armor, something she had never been able to do before, she could already make out the blonde's radiant chakra pathways. Not only that but the Hyuga could see now see the pair of wings on the Uzumaki's back. Adding to this she could also see the girl's magical tattoos, which interlaced with the chakra network, and a miniature scythe floating just above the whiskered girl's ring.

'_I can see it! I can see both her chakra and mana!_' Hinata thought herself in surprise and almost lost herself in the beauty of it all. Naruko noticed the change signally the activation of the Byakugan and got back into a fighting stance that snapped Hinata out of her amazement. Thus, she also took her fighting stance. '_Careful Hinata. Remember, Naruko-kun can increase her speed at will. You have to watch out for when she chakra flares._'

No sooner had the bluenette thought this did she see that pair of finely sculpted legs light up with power. In seconds the Uzumaki was on her but after the first punch was thrown the speed boost vanished. Yet that only seemed to give way to a more erratic fighting style that capitalized on the blonde's natural unpredictably in the ways of faints follow wild strikes. A good example was the left swing Naruko had thrown that was just short too reach Hinata but long enough to hide the uppercut that nailed the heiress in the stomach. The next attack was a knee to the face which the princess managed to block with both of her palms.

This, however, left her with open to for Naruko to grappling her back to front. Hinata eep'ed in surprise at felling the whiskered gamer's chest on her back before yelping at feeling herself being rapidly lifted. Next, the Hyuga was flipped heel-over-head and thrown almost like a shuriken onto the group where she crashed back first. Pain racked her body but she quickly had to roll sideways as her Byakugan saw the gamer dive kicking towards her. Regretfully she didn't move far enough as Naruko was able to pirouette on the attacking foot and kick Hinata on the ribs.

"That's not enough Hinata-chan!" Naruko exclaimed as she saw her opponent roll on the ground holding her sides in pain. "I know you're better than this. You just need to look deeper and find what makes you stronger. So, get up, put your arms up, and keep fighting!"

"It hurts..." Hinata said while failing to hold back her tears of pain. '_Stupid! Why did you think you could help? Otou-sama was right... I'm nothing but a weak failure…_'

"Then remember how that feels and strive to avoid it next time!" the Uzumaki commanded "Pain isn't a sign of weakness but a warning of our body to motivate us to survive. Pain is not something we want to feel but for weaklings like us, it can show us what needs improvement. Hinata-chan, people like you and me have been put down by this world again and again before they threw us down the stairs.

But the best thing about being at rock bottom is that there nowhere else to fall. Now all you have to do is just stand up and put one foot in front of the other to climb those stairs. It doesn't matter if you trip on your way up because I promise you, I'll be there to catch you, Hime. But first, you have to stand up for yourself! Show both me and the world that Hinata Hyuga is someone that not only stronger than they think she is but that she can become even great!"

Hinata was crying as she heard the Uzumaki's speech. Here she was showing just how weak her father, the elders, her cousin, and little sister knew she was yet Naruko was telling her it was okay. The blonde was not only saying that being weak was okay but that it meant she could still improve.

'_And all I have to do is stand up for once,_' the bluenette thought as she tries to stop her tears. '_I just have to stand up and Naruko-kun would acknowledge me._'

"That's it Hinata-chan! Stand up with your own two feet," the whiskered blonde cheered with a smirk. She could see her friend trying to stand even if it was shaking Naruko could feel a spark being ignited. All that was needed was one final stoke to light up a new inferno. "Stand up Hime! I already believe in you and that you're incredible! You just have to stand up, take a breath, and scream your name to the world! Let them hear your name. LET THE WORLD KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"

Already on her knees, the Hyuga heiress felt more strength in her than ever before. Then she heard that Naruko believed in her. It was at that moment she felt something in her change like she just gained something new. The heiress could feel something about to take shape and all she needed to do was stand on her own two feet.

'_I need to stand! I need them to hear! I need to be stronger!_' Hinata commanded herself and gritted her teeth as she finally stood up. "I'm Hinata Hyuga," she whispered no louder than a mouse.

"Louder."

"I'm Hinata Hyuga."

"Can't hear you! Louder!"

"I'm Hinata Hyuga!"

"I said to let the world hear you!"

'_Scream it dammit! Stop holding yourself back for once in your life and SCREAM!_' the Byakugan user cursed herself. She could feel her power reaching a boiling point as her body trembled. She clenched her fist until her knuckles turned white as she imaged turning the key on the lock. Then she dug deep and with all of her might finally turn the key.

"I'M HINATA HYUGA!"

And with that, the lock became undone…

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

(Moments before with the rest of the group)

The group had been watching the one-side fight with the adults giving commentary about the performance. All of them had come to the same conclusion as Naruko that Hinata was holding back. The Hokage, knowing only Kurenai knew the full story, asked if she explained why the girl was doing so. All the Yuhi said it was because of the girl having been forced to constantly fight her little sister for the seat of heiress which Hanabi had won constantly do to Hinata's gentle nature. This, in turn, causes the clan to see the older sibling as a failure and had privately disowned her of the title.

While the two men and fairy did not react to this expected for a small frown own their lips Ino was horrified. Being part of a clan, she knew such things could happen but even so she couldn't imagen ever being put in that situation. She knew her papa and mama were both incredible shinobi but she could never imagine those lovable goofs trying to force siblings to fight like that.

'_Just what kind of life has Hinata-chan lived?_' Ino asked herself with fear. Then they started hearing Naruko encouraging words towards Hinata. This brought a small smile to Ino's lips. '_Of course, she would try to help out. That baka. Always wants to play the hero and given her interest saving a princess would fall into that._'

Then they heard the small fairy chuckle though the adults could already feel a buildup of chakra around the area.

"So…You chose to give her the key instead of forcing the lock," Benihime commented to herself before she smirked. "I wonder: what you will become Hinata Hyuga?"

They all heard this which Hiruzen was about to ask when about when he and the other started hearing something.

"Why do I hear a choir?" Kurenai asked right before the sky became pitch black without them losing a single dot a light.

[Hinata Hyuga was meet the requirements for a class change]

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X

(Back to the fighters)

The message window was all the warning Naruko got before she was blasted away by the force created by the pillar of mana that engulfed Hinata. Thankfully she managed to flip and righted herself before using her wings to get even more distance from her opponent. Once she landed and slid back the Uzumaki started back at where her companion was. The whiskered girl couldn't help but grin in anticipation as the hairs on her arms started to stand on end. Then she heard a choir in her ears alongside the new window that popped up …

* * *

[BGM: Sigrun the Valkyrie Queen (God of War)]

**~ Challenge Declared ~**

**[Challenge: Rise of the Valkyrie]**

[Description – Congratulations on helping your friend take the first steps to become something greater than everyone thought she would be. Now all you have to do is survive her awakening long enough for the residual energy from the class change to dissipate!]

[**Special Condition**: Opponent is in **_Awakened_** status. In this state the user has perfect control of **Battle Aura** which means their MP and stamina will not be consumed by it.]

[Possible Rewards:

**Winning** = Amazon Tamer (Title)

**Losing** = Amazon Chaser (Title)]

* * *

"Why do I feel like that last title is calling me out?" Naruko questioned out loud as she felt like someone was laughing at her. Her question was left unanswered, or maybe not, once the tower of light disappeared to reveal the new Hinata Hyuga to the world.

Were the tower once stood now stands a figure clad in armor compromised of a helmet with feathers on its side, a breastplate, a pair of pauldron, fingerless gauntlets, greaves, sandals and to finish a white cloth tied around the waist like a skirt the reach below the knees with a slit in the left side to give the legs mobility. The armor was of indigo color with gold at the edges similar to the ribbon tied at the hilt of the naginata the girl was wielding. To finish the look the armor-clad girl was encased in the blue flames of her aura.

Hinata Hyuga [Lv 24] (Awakened)

Job Class: Valkyrie

"Beautiful…" was all Naruko could say as she saw the warrior standing before her. The warrior for her part let the blush stain her face but smiled.

"T-Thank you, Naru-kun," Hinata said still with a small stutter but you could see a new fire in her eyes. Then without a single hand sign, she activated her Byakugan in its full glory. "Sorry for making you wait. But now I'll fight you with my all."

The jinchuriki just grinned and summoned her scythe as she knew this was when the real battle would start. In response, the Valkyrie twirled the naginata behind her while putting the fingerless gauntlet in front palm facing the blonde. Then in a gust of wind both fighters ran at each other with the scythe being the first to take the swing. The Byakugan user saw this and ducked the swing completely before coiling her free hand back. Then she aimed at the scythe uses feet trusted chakra covered palm.

"**Eight Trigrams: Air palm!**" was the called out and a high-speed vacuum shell was unleashed from the short-hair girl's hand. That attack's speed was too fast to avoid at this distance and it easily toppled both of the Uzumaki's feet. The jinchuriki yelped in surprise but quickly used her wings to go higher and escape the Hyuga's reach. Regretfully for her, the movement was predicted as the chakra coated naginata was aimed and thrust at her chest. Naruko acted on instinct and used the staff of her weapon to block and deflect it.

The tactic work as it did deflect the blade away from her chest but at the cost of the rod getting sliced in half and the cutting in her shoulder. The thrust also managed to throw the smaller girl into a backward tail-spin onto the ground she could not control. This resulted in her landing on her back with a hard _thud_ but she managed to get up right after. On instinct, she called back her weapon…

[ERROR!]

[Repair time remaining for Bronze Scythe is 7hrs; 59min; 55sec]

'_WHAT?! My armor and weapons are supposed to be unbreakable! How is it under repair?_' Naruko thought in a cold sweat as she saw her opponent. Then as she saw this warrior who did what she thought impossible she couldn't stop the excited grin from forming. '_Well, Naruko… You did tell her to go all out,_' she thought and summoned the Mandible Blades she won from killing the Roach Empress. These dual swords were her strongest weapons with a +25ATK but hadn't used them due to her feeling more comfortable her scythe.

Then Uzumaki gripped her dual sword, smirked, and ran back into the fight while ignoring the pain on her shoulder. Hinata saw this and used her pole weapon to deflect each slash send her way. As their fight became a dance the Hyuga started to sweat since even though no attack had landed the strength behind them was making her hands tremble with each blow. Then she saw a chance when Naruko jumped into a double downward slash. Hinata rapidly raised her naginata horizontally and blocked the swords but then took a step back and let go of the weapon. This caught the whiskered girl by surprise as she couldn't stop the momentum of the swing which left her wide open.

Next thing she knew Hinata tapped her arms two times, one per join, and her hands let go the swords. This was followed by an open palm strike to her chest that made it feel like all of the air was squeeze out of her lungs. The Valkyrie followed up by kicking up the naginata as the swords dispersed into chakra dust, spun the weapon, and thrust into the Gamer's gut. As the chakra coated weapon skewered her opponent the Byakugan finally saw the cracks on the armor.

"I'm sorry Naru-kun," Hinata whispered and she reared her free hand back. Then she noticed Naruko throwing her a challenging smirk.

"I'm still standing. So, you haven't won," the Uzumaki dared which earned her a small thanks from her opponent. She already knew this battle was lost but for the life us her, she couldn't wait to see how it would end. "Give me the best you got. Don't hold anything back!"

"I understand," answered the Hyuga before striking with an open palm strike aim at her opponent's chest. Subsequently, the smaller girl was roughly and rapidly expelled backward off the naginata. Naruko for her part could feel cracks forming in her entire body due to the blow and traveling the length of the weapon. Then when the blade came out of her gut the whiskered girl put as much chakra as she could into her feet to remain standing. This, in turn, caused her feet to make twin trenches as she slid through the ground.

"Your armor is incredible Naru-kun," Hinata commented while stabbing her weapon into the ground. "Normally the Byakugan can see through anything but your armor can block it," she announced while looking at the panting blonde. "I guess with it being made out of your chakra the haze is too much for the Gentle Fist to be effective."

"At first… right?" Naruko inquired with a smirk and added "You somehow managed to break my scythe which doesn't have a durability stat. I can also_ see_ the cracks all over my armor. Then to top it off, my max MP says 720 instead of 1,494. Tell me: your attacks are meant to seal away Chakra isn't it?"

"Yes," the bluenette answered with a nod and added "The Gentle Fist is used to incapacitate and/or kill the enemy by attacking their chakra network until they can no longer release their chakra. This also has the added effect of shutting down limbs, muscles, or even organs. But now I will show you one of my clan's strongest technique. Forgive me if it hurts." After saying this the Hyuga took a stance with one hand pointing to the front and the other behind. In response, to Naruko and Hinata, the world became dark with the only light coming from three green rings below them with the center one being the yin-yang symbol.

"**Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palm!**" Hinata screamed and in a burst of the speed reached the immovable Naruko.

"**2 Palms!**" the first two strikes and both girl the cracks in the armor increase.

"**4 Palms!**" the next set covered the entirety of the Uzumaki's armor in blue cracks.

"**8 Palms!**" after these four attacks the armor shattered like glass and left the whiskered girl defenseless. Then came the remaining eight the assaulted her body.

"**16 Palm!**" the Valkyrie yelled and slammed both of her hands onto Naruko's stomach with all the chakra she could. The remaining energy from the aura crashed into her opponent's body like a wrecking ball. This resulted in two events: (1) the blonde's clothing ripped or shredded and (2) launching the small girl backward like an uncontrolled cannonball.

Then 50ft way the whiskered girl crashed back-first in the ground and created a crater. However, that wasn't enough to stop her momentum as her small body managed to bounce and kept going. The ragdoll like body then traveled ten more feet before it slammed headfirst, bounce again, and finally landed on its side thought it did leave a five-foot-long trench while doing so.

Then everyone was silent for some time as they tried to process what just happened…

"NARU-KUN!" Hinata finally screamed about a minute later as she realized what she had done to her crush. That panic yell managed to snap everyone and they went to the Uzumaki's resting place.

Yet no one managed to beat the distraught Hyuga who had crossed the distance in seconds. After reaching the girl she just sent flying the bluenette carefully turned the blonde on her back to see the damage. Hiruzen was the next person to reach the scene but noticed that Hinata wasn't moving which made him think the worst. Hence, he slid onto his knees and place a hand on the Huyga's shoulder. The old shinobi didn't even have a chance to ask what was wrong as the Byakugan user gained the ability to fly by way of high-pressure nosebleed. The indigo missile would have knocked out Kurenai had the jonin been a second slower in stopping to catch the girl.

'_Do I even want to know?_' Hiruzen asked himself before taking the high route and taking off her robes. Then without looking laid them on the passed out Uzumaki before picking her up.

"I can't believe there exists a way to break my mistress' weapons and armor," Benihime commented while scanning the girl in the Hokage's arms. "Still at least the inventory can repair them even if it takes eight hours to do so. However, I think the best news today would be Hinata-chan's class change. I didn't expect someone other than Naruko-chan could do it but I guess Hinata-chan unyielding trust of her must have played a role."

"Yes, Class Change. What is that exactly? Can everyone do such a thing?"

"Class Change is a more literal version of a human's innate ability to adapt, change, and evolve by their own will. Everyone naturally through training will get stronger, gain experience and in a military setting, they gain a new rank like a student becoming a Genin. However, I'm sure if everyone can do it like Hinata just did if they have a high trust level with Naruko and vice versa."

'_So, only people that can make lasting bonds with Naruko-chan can evolve like that? Then would place her in a different team from Hinata-chan be more beneficial? Questions for later then. For now, she'll get some rest,_' the Kage thought before calling out "Well, I think we should let these two rest. Yamanaka-san, while Kurenai-san and Kakashi-kun take care of our tried friends I'll be your opponent."

"H-H-Hai Hokage-sama!" Ino answered straight as an arrow while thinking '_Don't show any fear Ino! Hinata-chan was afraid but she managed to pull through and again a new power! Maybe you will do the same! Even if it means… fighting… the… Hokage… Oh shit._'

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

After getting the system reboot massage Naruko blinked and while she didn't have a headache her body did feel like it weighed a ton. Thankfully the jinchuriki could move her limbs enough to feel the "blanket" covering her body. With some effort, she lifted her head to notice the blanket was the Hokage's robes.

"I wouldn't take that off of you right now. That is unless you want to look more indecent than your birthday suit," Benihime could be heard saying. The Uzumaki blinked in confusion at this and lifted the robes over her head to inspected. It only took the whiskered girl a couple of seconds to put them back down with her face match a tomato.

"Why do my clothes look like they went five rounds with a rabid dog and lost all of them?" the blushing girl asked with earn a nervous laugh from the fairy.

"It seems my creator implemented clothing damage to fashion items to add sexiness points. The programmer notes also mentioned something about the game needing fanservice or something but I refused to keep reading after that," the fairy confessed with great shame. "Hinata-chan managed to unlock your chakra after you passed out. Thanks to that you should be able to use your menu windows. Therefore, I suggest you change clothes before doing anything else."

Naruko nodded and quickly opened up her inventory for new clothing that she had thankfully bought during the previous week just in case. In a soft pulse of chakra dust, her tattered clothes were changed for a simple black shirt with the leaf symbol in orange on the chest, a pair of jeans, and ninja sandals. Then she looked for her armor and noticed it was in being repaired like the scythe which made her frown slightly but it wasn't the end of the world. With that thought, the girl looked for the Gamer Shop on her menu…

"The hell?" the girl asked at the new window that popped up. It was here that Kakashi made his presence known besides the two females by asking what was wrong. To this Naruko answered "It's a warning from the system. It says that since this is a field type dungeon the Gamer Shop can be access and the first time it cost just 1 gold coin. After that the next time its opened will cost 50 with each subsequent access being double the previous one while inside this dungeon."

"I guess it works as a punishment for not being prepared," Kakashi commented with a shrug. "Better make the first purchase worth it."

Taking that to heart the girl opened the shop and went to the armor section to replace the broken leather armor. However, once that window was opened the whiskered child's eye twitched in annoyance as each piece of the tier one armor was greyed out with [SOLD OUT] in red written over them. After showing this to both the fairy and jonin the smaller of the two explained that it was as oversight as the Gamer Shop was programmed under the assumption that neither weapon nor armor could be broken. Hence there was no reason the player needed to buy multiple versions unless the first set was upgraded, given or thrown away. Naruko heard this and understandably grumbled about lazy designs before buying a Hide Shield that gave her +15DEF after equipping it. Next, she equipped the gloves she won from the mimic.

* * *

{Equipment}

Thief Gloves |Legendary|

Description – A pair of fingerless gloves made of leather which were imbued with the skills of the Billionaire Adventurer Kazuma Sato.

+10DEF

**Skill: Steal [Mastery: 0%]**

Description – As the name implies the user can steal items from their targets with the value of the item and acquiring it depending on the LUCK of the user. Once this technique is mastered the user will possess the skill even without the gloves equipped. **NOTE:** Will yield _highly valuable_ items if used against females.

* * *

'_Nice,_' the Uzumaki exclaimed in her head at the thought of such a valuable and normally class-specific ability falling on her lap. After this, she was about to close the window when an idea popped into her head. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei," the blue-eye student called out "Could you help or guide me into buying the needed supplies for camping and surviving out in the field? Since you've had more experience out in the field and thanks to my limitless inventory I could work as "the pack mule" and carry out things."

The cyclops thought of this for a few moments and agreed under the stipulation that she could not make it a habit that she would always carry everything. Reason being that if she managed to graduate and placed into a genin team her teammate would need to learn to carry their weight and not expect her to have all of the equipment. The girl understood the idea of self-reliance and agreed to not be an enabler for laziness after they got out of this dungeon. After this, the two humans and fairy went on a shopping spree for all sorts of camping equipment and probably enough supplies for a month. Also, given that the jonin noticed the cheap prices, they splurged somewhat by buying a stainless-steel gas-powered BBQ grill with 5 burners as well as the need cleaning tools.

After that, and reading the instructions, the two decided to cook lunch for the party. Naruko, remembering the meat had won from killing beast-type monsters, summoned it so it could be chopped, seasoned, laddered it with helping of brown-sugar BBQ sauce, skewered alongside some veggies and then put in the grill. Then the three sat on the folding chairs and table while they talked and waited for the food and their companions. During this, the jonin lectured the academy students on tips and tricks for surviving out in the wild which the girl took note of. Also, when asked Kakashi explained some of the cooking recipes he had learned during his lifetime which the blonde made sure to write down and practice later at home as she now had access to fresh/non-spoiled ingredients at reasonable prices. Then somewhere along the way, a joke about becoming chefs veered the talking towards the titles given by the system. It was here that Naruko remembered the one she had just won and reluctantly showed it to her companions. The young her blushed heavily while the other two chuckled at the information.

* * *

**Title: Amazon Chaser**

"_I love the kind of woman that can kick my ass._"

— **Spike Spiegel**, _Cowboy Bebop_

Women 15 levels higher than you will find your weakness attractive

You become candy for women with _Dominating_ personalities traits

+45% success in Dom women accepting your advances for casual "lectures"

* * *

"Is there something wrong with me?" Naruko asked in a whisper as her face felt like an inferno. She always knew that she liked strong women because kunoichi like Tsunade Senju were just badass but something about that title felt naughtier. '_Why do I feel like a pervert?! Isn't liking strong girl normal?!_' she thought and then her eyes wandered towards the party members training.

Immediately the pair of blue eyes landed in the indigo Valkyrie dodging attacks from Kurenai. The Hyuga was no longer stiff and rigid in her stance as the bluenette now seemed to move like water itself through the attacks from the female jonin. Surprisingly the plated armor the girl was wearing didn't appear to restrict her movements or flexibility given some of the ways she managed to bend or jump away from the attacks. This admiration soon gave way to the memory of how Hinata looked during their previews spar and Naruko had to quickly smash her blushing face onto the tables as her body started feeling very hot. Once more the Hatake chuckled but patted the girl's head in a show of sympathy.

"Mah, no reason to be ashamed of it. Lots of people like a strong woman. The real trick is not turning into a doormat that they can use to clean their heels on whenever they walk in the house. _That_ type of abusive relationship that is beyond unhealthy," he commented and got up to check the food.

As the adult walked towards his designated job the child raised her head to look at her other party members. This time she made sure to look at the other female student in the group. There Naruko saw a sight she never thought would be possible when it came to the Yamanaka heiress. This shocking event was the purple student taking her training seriously as she tried to dodge and weave through the Hokage's attacks. It was clear to anyone that the old man wasn't even trying but that didn't mean the blows were any less painful give Ino's bruised and battered look. However, as the Uzumaki looked on she could see a very familiar fire in the light-blue eyes which reflected Ino's refusal to give up.

'_Wow, even if she's thrown flat on her face Ino-chan is trying to get up. Even from here, I can see her body is barely holding her up yet she's still trying. I wonder what lit up her fighter spirit?_' the whiskered girl asked herself while she admired the Yamanaka trying to better herself.

"You do realize you haven't even equipped that title and you are still entranced by those two, right?" Benihime inquired with a knowing grin. It took Naruko a couple of seconds to realize said and react to it. This resulted in the girl blushing even more onto the surface of the table.

'_Curse you, my weak gay heart!_'

It was a few moments later when Kakashi asked the girl to call the others as the food was ready. As such with a very loud "Lunch is ready!" was yelled. The other party members stopped their training to look at their direction. The four shrugged and went to the small camped only to see the table with parasol, folding chairs, BBQ grill, food, and drinks waiting for them. Then the smell hit them which cause both Ino and Hinata's stomachs to growl in a very un-ladylike manner. Both blushed but that didn't stop them from eating their skewers with gusto. Heck, even Ino wasn't going on about a diet with how famished she felt after the bet down she had gotten.

At the same time, Naruko had been using a **First-Aid** to help patch up the girl alongside Kurenai using her medical kit and limited medical knowledge. Thankfully between the two, the Yamanaka managed to return to a more presentable state. She still covered in dirt and bruises but at least she wasn't in total pain. Then the people started eating and the one training became surprised as their body felt like they were gaining some of their stamina and chakra back. Kurenai was the first to ask why this was and it was Benihime who answered like always.

"The grill is engraved with magical sigils that infuse the food cooked in it with mana. Therefore, when said food is eaten it not only heals your HP and hunger but it also restores lost stamina. Although I think the full and immediate effects will only work on Naruko-chan give how her body works now. Everyone else would just have and somewhat accelerated healing."

"That and it tastes great! If Choji was here he would probably eat everything," Ino commented while savoring each bite. "By the way Pumpkin, those clothes look so much better than that slutty get up you were wearing," the Yamanaka commented before she heard what she said. "Dammit! I'm so sorry! I didn't want to insult you. I'm sorry," she tried to apologize while bowing her head in shame. However, this earned her a light-hearted chuckle and a slightly mocking grin once she lifted her head.

"No offense taken. I know your just jealous that I have a better body than you," the Uzumaki commented with a wink. The Yamanaka blush and stuck out her tongue but at least she was happy that she hadn't messed up. "Now speaking of new looks…" the whisker girl started while looking at their new Valkyrie. "How does it feel to change classes Hinata-chan?" At the question, the Hyuga blushed as the attention of everyone turning to her but remembering the encouragement the Uzumaki provided her the girl didn't let her shyness win.

"It… It feels liberating I would say," Hinata started "It's like I was living my whole life w-w-with my hands tied behind my back. Yet not only are they free now but it feels like nothing is holding me back. Normally I'm s-s-scared of what people think of me and to an extent, it's still there," she explained while touching the breastplate of her armor and smiling. "Now it's like this armor is a physical manifestation of my resolve to let anyone know that I'm no longer a weakling. I may not be a genius like Neji-niisan but it doesn't mean I'm weak because I can still train to become better." Then the lavender-eyed princess looks at the whiskered girl and gave one of the most sincere, cheerful, radiant, and down-right beautiful smiles the Uzumaki had ever seen.

"Thank you Naru-kun. Without you, I don't think I would have found my self-worth this early in life. In a few moments, you've done more for me than anyone of my family since my mother's passing. For that, you have my eternal gratitude." The jinchuriki couldn't help but give a blushing smile as she was left speechless from the warm feelings that thank you gave her. Not even Hiruzen or Iruka had ever expressed such appreciation for her and it was a new but welcomed experience.

'_This girl… Not only is she beautiful on the outside but also the inside. Heh, I just wanted to make her a friend and possibly the key to tormenting that Pervy-eyes. Now it seems I might start to like her more than a friend. Damn, getting a crush on my friend was never part of it. It's just so cliché,_' Naruko thought with a small smile that she hoped didn't show her feelings. "Y-Y-Your welcome, Hime."

The old kage gave a soft chuckle to himself at the interaction that had transpired. '_Ah, poor Naruko-chan. Seems like your young heart is being captured by our dear princess._' Then, after seeing it was still midday, Hiruzen voice the idea on what they would do for the rest of the day "Since it's still daylight I think it would be a good time to see what a Boss fight is like or at least investigate that abandoned temple close to the entrance which we ignored while following the treasure map."

"There is a reason why I refused to explore that church," Naruko commented after taking a bite of their meal. "I've seen enough late-night horror movies to know that was waiting for us is not treasure but an undead horde ready to tear apart our fresh and juicy flesh. And if not that then it cursed with ghosts or horrible abominations from hell that wishes give our souls a one-way ticket to hell."

"Come now, Uzumaki-san. This isn't a movie," Kurenai giggled lightly to try and alleviate the girls' worry. However, this only earned her twin cackles that ended in vicious smirks from the gamer and Navi. Then the two spoke in perfect "horror-movie-twins" sync.

"You're right Yuhi-san. This isn't a movie. It's a video game."

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

~ Abandon Church – BF1 ~

The screech of dying rats could be heard throughout the chamber as Kurenai gutted two of those dog size beasts with her Kunais. Then as the crimson-eye woman looked around she saw the decapitating three zombies in a single swing of Hinata's naginata, Ino killing two bats with her whip, Kakashi cutting in half a mummy with lighting coated Kunai and the Sandaime setting ablaze a group of three Muddy Hands with a low-power fireball until they hardened after which he crushed them with his bo-staff. Then she heard a "Got your head!" which made the jonin turn to see Naruko running around with the skull from one of the moving skeletons with swords and shields.

The headless creature stomped its foot in anger before giving chase followed by two of its comrades. Regretfully for them, that small gap in action was enough for Naruko to reach the other side of the room and turn around to kick the angry skull at them. The head flew like a cannon and went through its body's ribcage and spine. The following explosion of bone sent its sword and shield towards its surprised companions' heads. Two more skulls fell on the ground which left the creatures scrambling in search of their heads which were soon destroyed by twin **Piercing Eagles** after Naruko threw the need chakra charged Kunais.

* * *

[**Congratulations! You won!**]

[You've gained 71XP]

[Loot: 05 rat tails, 02 bat wings, 01 dirty bandages, 03 rotten flesh, 03 bones, 03 Rusted Swords, 03 Wooden Shields and 71 copper coins]

* * *

"You know," Naruko started with an insufferable grin "I have no idea why I was so against you guys fighting. These catacombs are a piece of cake with you guys!"

"Nothing bad about being carried once in a while. After all, everyone is a novice at first," Benihime added with a satisfied grin.

After the party had was done eating, they traveled towards the church which was thankfully close to the tower. Once there they were met with a dilapidated building with not a soul in sight. On the Hokage's suggestion, they searched around for anything important which yielded two things. The first was a wooden chest that contained the following items: one Holy Book, 5 vials of Holy Water, and a Golden Cross. The second item of importance found courtesy of Hinata's Byakugan was a door below the alter that was covered in bloody handprints. The group decided to investigate this after Naruko's needlessly creepy "Death draws nears."

The door opened to show them a set of stairs that they descended into the catacombs below the church. That had been more than an hour ago and during that hour Kurenai had to repeatedly eat her words as they were attacked by all manner of undead creatures straight out of those old horror movies the Uzumaki had mentioned. Thankfully the small student didn't feel or thought to say "I told you so," as the monsters keep appearing from the walls, ceilings, floor, and coffins like with the sole desire to devour them. At least the saving grace of this expedition was that the creatures were laughably weak though that could also be a curse as it made their increasing numbers annoying, to say the least.

"It's strange," Hiruzen commented towards the Uzumaki after this recent ambush "The video you showed me if your previous dungeon didn't show you fighting this many monsters at once."

"If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it because of the size of the party. Normally in games by the time you have these many allies you're mid to late-game and thus fighting stronger enemies. Not that any regular monster here would pose a real threat to any of you," Naruko answered while using **Scan** on the area but found nothing of interest.

"They might be easy for us but we should keep our guard up," Kurenai added as she looked at the room they were in and noticed the four doors facing them. "Is this the game's way of saying we should split up and explore?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"More than likely," the Uzumaki answered right before grabbing her classmates and pulling them into sandwiching her. "I'll stay safe with these two. You jonin can take a path each plus by simply calling out the map we'll know everyone's' positions."

While the Yamanaka protested about the impromptu hug and the Hyuga blushed the Hokage chuckled and agreed to the plan. Thus, the group separated into different passages with Hinata leading the way for the genin thanks to her Byakugan. Thanks to this they managed to avoid or dismantle any of the amateur level traps in the corridors. Another plus that the bluenette's eye could help her detect the mana pools form where monsters would be summoned which meant no ambushes from said creatures. It almost felt like they were cheating at this point.

"Hey, like any other game out there, the exploit only happened because the developer didn't notice a combination of events or techniques can break the game," Benihime commented they finished off one of the supposed ambushes.

"So long as I don't get bit by one of those rotten zombies, I say keep it up, Hinata-chan," Ino added while reeling in her whip. Then the girl seemed to remember something and turned to her fellow heiress with worry. "Are your eyes okay? I heard for papa that bloodline limits that manipulate a person's body like Dojutsus can be very taxing about the user due to the chakra requirements. And you haven't turn it off since we separated from the adults."

"Huh?" was Hinata's response as she blinks. It was only here that she noticed that, yes, she still had her Byakugan as she could plainly see the chakra network of her classmates and the fairy. "Strange… Normally you would be right Ino-chan but I can barely feel the drain," the lavender eyed girl notes before turning off her bloodline limit. "Usually when I use the Byakugan I need to use the required hand signs to activate it and I can feel my chakra being used. Yet ever since my fight with Naru-kun it seems I can turn on or off my Byakugan at will like everyone else from age 8 and above which is something I couldn't do. Do you think it has something to do with the class change, Benihime-san?"

"Aww, where did the cute stutter go?" Naruko whispered to herself but in the enclosed pace everyone managed to hear it. This immediately turned Hinata into a blushing stuttering mess and cause Ino to smack the back of Naruko's head. "Oww! What did I do?"

"Stop teasing the poor girl," the taller blond answered with a huff. "You gave her that whole speech about her being better than the world thinks she is. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that she wants to eliminate such a speech impediment. Though I have to say, that is by far the fastest I've seen someone get rid of a shutter ever. I've seen cousins of mine give speech therapy and regularly it takes weeks to months for patients with lesser stutters than yours to start improving." The examination was given with a genuine proud smile.

Then the smile turned into a smirk.

"By the way, I've noticed you've been calling Pumpkin here "kun" for a while now. I know she doesn't act like she's a girl most of the time but I doubt that enough for you to call her a boy. Unless, of course, there is a reason for it?"

Hinata blushes harder at the question and started poking her fingers. Somehow seeing the girl now clad in armor and with a naginata strapped to her back do that actioned increased the cute factor by a few notches.

"I-i-i-i-it f-f-f-f-feels r-r-r-r-right," the Hyuga princess barely whispered out was her blush genuinely started to light up the corridor they were in. That made the redhead fairy blink in surprise.

'_Wow, I know emotions can become a power in this reality but I didn't think someone blushing could turn them into a lamp. Hehehe, the poor girl has it bad,_' Benihime thought with a giggle. "You're teasing her too, Ino-san. Besides, I think it's a cool nickname since it makes Naruko seem like "The Prince" in an all-girls school. Plus, this kind of balances out your sweet and cute Pumpkin!"

Ino vehemently trying to protest the nickname was an insult and not a gesture of care but the fairy completely ignored her. Naruko for her part chose to ignore the reward window saying she earned the title "The Prince" since she could feel that was going to be another embarrassing remark on her preference. Benihime internally smirks at knowing what the title said but didn't comment as she kept talking about Hinata.

"As for Hinata's sudden lack of stutter and her newfound self-assurance? I would say that it is indeed a side effect of the class change. I mean, the only way she could evolve was if she chose to accept her weak self and then decided she could improve by her own will. Thus, it's no small wonder that she would gain the confidence to at least speak with enough clarity for people to hear her."

"Nice, I wonder what other things about Hinata-chan changed? Maybe you can see new things with your eyes?" Naruko inquired with excitement over her friend's new abilities.

"Why not pop open that one of those status screens and look at the skills tab?" Ino asked and tried to summon one with her hand like she noticed the Uzumaki doing from time to time. However, the movement didn't bring up the window nor any other hand swipe she did. "The hell? What gives? Whenever you move your hand those windows come up so why not now?"

"That's because only I can do that," the whiskered blonde answered with a small chuckle. "I mean, it's not like everyone can…" here the girl stopped as if remembering something. Then Naruko quickly opened her inventory to take out the spellbook. After a quick search, the small novice mage exclaimed victory and grabbed Hinata's right hand. Then she read out "_Let us witness the truest self of the one before me for nothing is hidden to the eyes of the world. **Status Card!**_"

Once the words were spoken the Hyuga felt the Uzumaki's mana enter softly into her hand and write a magic circle over the back of her palm. Then to the girls' surprise, a 4 by 6 index card slowly materialized out of the bluenette's hand. Once fully made the card floated gently before Hinata grabbed it. This lets them see that on the surface it had a profile picture of Hinata with her full name below it.

[Open player information?]

[YES/NO]

"Wait a minute," Ino started while looking a Naruko in confusion. "I thought you could only learn one spell at a time. So, why could you do this one?"

"I thought so too but while absorbing the basics I learned a fun fact. So long as I have the book, I can cast a spell in it but I have to manually look for it, insert mana into the book so it can serve as a medium, read the spell out loud and finally invoke the magic into the world. On the other hand, if I learned the spell the book is no longer needed for the invocation and the mana going directly into the spell. Another way of seeing it is that using a spell from a book costs twice as much MP and time."

Both heiresses with simulations "Oh" at the explanation before nodding. Then on the behest of everyone the lavender eyed princess clicked [YES] on the card and the status window appeared.

* * *

**{Player Status}**

Name: Hinata Hyuga

Level: 24

Title: Gentle Princess [ + ]

Job Class: Valkyrie [ + ]

HP: 2,400/2,400

MP: 1,320/1,320

XP: 3,659/4,563

* * *

"Those plus signs mean there's more information. Just click them," Benihime explained to the Hyuga. The girl nodded and did so.

* * *

**Title: Gentle Princess**

Description – A child of the nobility who embodies the true meaning of the word noble: to be kind and be virtues. It just shows how pure you are to remain good while surrounded by people who belittle their own brethren over the circumstances of their birth or use their social standing as an excuse to act like monsters to others.

People do not perceive you as hostile during the first interaction

Increases Healing Arts effectiveness by 25%

**Job Class: Valkyrie**

Description – A female figure of legend who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. She is the divine messenger of death who while guiding the souls of the worthy into Valhalla so they can become Odin's Einherjars that will fight to defend the realms in Ragnarök. **NOTE**: Only women of pure souls, strong will, and courage to battle can be chosen to join this rank.

Unlocks Omni-armor Proficiency

Unlocks Spear Proficiency

Let's the player learn Healing Arts

Unlocks Awaken Byakugan

* * *

"Awaken Byakugan? But my eyes are already able to use my family's dojutsu," Hinata commented in confusion which causes Naruko to shrug.

"Maybe your eyes leveled up? In videogames its normal for some skills to evolve in stages. Maybe your bloodline works like that? Click on the skills tab. We'll probably get more information there," the Uzumaki suggested.

* * *

**{Player Skills}**

**[Passive Skills]**

**Omni-armor Proficiency [Lv1]**

Description – Normally it takes people months or years of training to feel comfortable moving around in any type of armor however you are different. Thanks to the blessing of the All-Father Odin to his Valkyries they are not burthen by the weight of their armor.

Let's the player use any armor type without movement restrictions

(Complete) Light Armor set gives +10AGI

(Complete) Medium Armor set gives +10ATK

(Complete) Heavy Armor set gives +10DEF

**Spear Proficiency [Lv1]**

Description – Allows the player to use polearm so they can attack their enemies with deadly precision while still managing to stay out of arm's reach.

Unlocks Lotus Lance

**Awakened Byakugan**

Description – For many generations, the Hyuga clan has prided themselves in their "all-seeing-eyes" and the ability it grants. However, complacency is a hubris that rots away even the greatest of skill. Thankfully you have cast aside these thoughts by wanting to evolve into someone better than you were. Then in combination with your change into the role of a Valkyrie the true strength of the Byakugan can now be realized.

The player can now control their Byakugan like a camera lens

Zooming will decrease the 360 degrees vision of the user but extend the range and clarity of a singular point

Controlling the intensity of the Byakugan will let the user see more than just the chakra network of a person

**Blessing of the Eight Trigrams**

Description – So long as the Byakugan is active the user is not affected by illusions lower than S or A-Rank genjutsu.

**Gentle Fist (Aquarius Stance) [Lv1]**

Description – Unlike the standard form of the Gentle Fist which uses unflinching stances to block and deflect the enemy's attacks this version provides more mobility. This version uses the practitioner's own natural flexibility to give them an upper hand in combat as their enemies will feel like they are fighting the raging river itself.

**[Crafting Skills]**

**Herbalism [Lv5]**

**Cooking [Lv7]**

**Tailoring [Lv4]**

**[Healing Arts]**

**Healing Ward [Lv1]**

Description – Upon striking the ground with the bottom end of the pole or staff the user creates a healing sigil of 5 feet in radius around themselves that lasts for 30 seconds. During the activation of the ward, anyone in it will be healed by 15HP per 2second.

**WARNING**: Caster cannot move during activation.

**[Battle Skills]**

**Eight Trigrams: Air palm**

Description – A technique developed by the practitioners of the Gentle Fist to use in conjunction with Byakugan and attack an enemies' vitals points from a distance. This technique compresses chakra into a "vacuum shell" that is launched with a high-speed palm thrust towards the opponent with the force of a hammer.

Blunt/Crushing damage

MP Cost: 25MP

**Eight Trigrams: Sixteen palm**

Description – A weaker variation of the Gentle Fist's signature technique. These 16 hit combo is meant to strike the opponent's chakra points (tenketsu) and thus incapacitate or kill them by sealing away the chakra in their bodies. The illusion of the world becoming dark except for a green yin-yang symbol is created by the Byakugan enforcing its user's will onto the target.

-5HP per palm strike

-15MP per palm strike

**Lotus Lance**

Description – A 5 hit combo. The user covers their spear in holy energy and thrust the weapon into the target.

-25HP per hit + Light Damage

**Clone Jutsu**

**Transform Jutsu**

**Substitution Jutsu**

* * *

"Okay, wow, those are some impressive skills, Hinata-chan," Ino commented with a grin that was shared by Naruko and Benihime. "But why didn't it list the other stats number values it gives to Naruko's?"

"That's because normal humans need machines and tests to determine such aspects of themselves." Benihime informed and added "Plus people need extended periods of training to raise their attributes, unlike Naruko who can modify them instantly given the right circumstances are met. Hence why you would not be able to see such things while she can."

"Then why are her HP, MP, and XP visible?" the Yamanaka asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because ever since you became part of this party you have been able to see them."

While this discussion was going Hinata had noticed that Naruko kept looking at the Status Card and at her multiple times with some intensity. It wasn't anything like the scolding or reprimanding looks she was used to in her home but more of an analytical one. As if the whiskered girl was trying to figure out something and wasn't trying to hide it. Then their eyes met and the Hyuga girl felt her body burn under that excited gaze.

"Hey," Naruko called out to get everyone's attention. "I want to test out this part here," she said while pointing at the third point on the Awaked Byakugan. "It says here you can see more than the person's chakra network. I want to see what it means!"

After saying that she grabbed a surprised Ino and walked a few steps back from Hinata. Then she asked the bluenette to test that out on them while describing what she could see. Both princesses _oh'ed_ in understanding and Hinata activated her Byakugan with a simple thought. Sure enough, she could see her party members' networks light up like a candle thought Naruko's looked like a forest fire.

After describing this Hinata proceeded to try and test what the Uzumaki wanted. At first, she struggles to comprehend how she didn't know how to dial down the power in her eyes without deactivating them. However, as soon as she had thought that she felt an idea form to used that same analogy. Hence, she quickly envisioned a light dial connected to the chakra in her eyes. Surprisingly it seemed that being in a world created out of imagination seem to help her created the image and she slowly used it.

Hinata informed this to her friends right before giving the dial its first turn. Then the girl started to explain the gradual effects of lowering the energy output. The first thing that happened was that she could now see the shapes of the organs the network was wrapped around which wasn't that new to her given the chakra points and network were so interwoven with many vital organs but it was worth mentioning nonetheless. Think of the difference between touching something with your eyes closed and with them open. The object is still there and you know its shape without a problem but it's still a different experience.

Next the "Byakugan Dial", as Naruko called it much to Ino protests that it was a dumb name, was given another turn. This time the Hyuga princess could help but gasp at the very noticeable change.

She could _see_ color while her Byakugan was active. This, she explained, was something she never thought possible as every Hyuga when asked what they saw said the thing: "The world turns black and gray with only the blue of chakra showing itself differently." Even as grotesque and morbid as it was to see the organs of her classmates move and functioned inside of them Hinata couldn't help but stare in wonder at this discovery. However, that momentary lapse of concentration proved to be dangerous as the dial was turned far lower than it should have.

"Hinata-chan?" the whiskered Uzumaki questioned when she noticed the Byakugan user go straight as a rob and wide-eyed. Weird enough that girl's blush had seemed to evolve to a red that had never before been seen. "Hey, you okay?" she asked while taking a step forward.

The following nosebleed should have been recorded because this sure as hell would have broken the record for the longest long-jump. The landing, however, would need a _bit_ more practice.

"The hell just happened?" Ino asked in both horror and awe at this display. "All she was doing was using her X-ray vision to… to… to… _Ooooooh_."

Both of the blondes blushed and hid their faces behind their hands once they realized what the Hyuga princess just saw. They were both thankful to all the heavens that Hinata was born a girl but damn if knowing they could cause that sort of reaction on another female didn't feel empowering.

And that was with them only standing still!

"We… we should wake her. In case of monster attack… you know," the Yamanaka said stilling blushing and her fellow blonde agreed wordlessly.

Minutes later the party of three found themselves in front of an open room. Looking inside they noticed it looked like a laboratory with all the instruments, vails, potions, materials, books, and papers lying around it. They decided to flip a coin each to see if they should enter or not. Much to Ino's annoyance Hinata's and her's were the ones that landed heads to signal they would move forward. Thankfully she chose not to be a sore loser and accepted to enter.

Inside they got a better view of the lab and, at least to Ino, the room looked like a standard experiment and development lab. From beakers, burners, and grounders on the tables to the books, loose notes, and diagrams on the walls it looks like the ones used back room to make medicine from the flowers they cultivated. The only weird thing was the clear jars with a green liquid that almost reach the ceiling.

"Those things look like lava lamps," the taller blonde commented while watching something floating inside the giant cylinders.

"This is stranger," Hinata stated while looking at the cylinders with her Byakugan active. "I can only sense chakra inside one of these containers. It is as if the other two are dead."

As those two watched on Naruko was already feeling something was off since entering the room. She looked around and read the notes on the tables to see if she could find anything. Thankfully it was written in the same language as the spellbook so she could understand some of it. Most of the text was still too complex for the academy student to fully grasp but some words did stick out.

Creation

Evolution

Modify

Life

Immortality

Failure

"Girls," Naruko called out while summoning her axe and shield. "I think we just walked into the boss room."

"What are you talking about?" Ino questioned right before the lights went off. Only the green glow of the jars illuminated the turn. The primal instinct to run overtook the purple kunoichi and she took a step right before she landed on her knees while holding her head in pain.

"INO!" the remaining two screamed as they grabbed the wailing heiress. At the same time, Benihime informed them that the door had closed and locked itself. Hearing this made the Uzumaki curse and picked up her friend so…

_Click…_

"It… it… it _hurts…_" the mind reader moaned while crying.

_Click-click_

"The voices… they… they're _screaming_," she begs as if her friends could make it stop.

_Click click click click… crack…_

Naruko gulped nervously as her **Gamer Mind** calmed her down. Then she turned back to the middle jar which not sported various cracks in it. Not second later both Naruko and Hinata had to jump as far back as they could. Not a moment later the cylinder exploded while sending liquid and glass everywhere.

The beastly howl that followed this was all the two abled body girls need to know that they were in for a fight.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had some good holidays and that this year is kind to you. Sorry for not updating in so long. Between family business and procrastination, this chapter was very late. Also, one of the reviewers pointed out that the honorific kun was only used for boys.

Well, I'm going by the way I've seen it be used sometimes by older people can call younger one either chan or kun as a term of endearment. However, for this fic will Hinata will call Naruko with the kun honorific. Thought this is mostly out of my own preference of "hearing" Hinata saying "Naru-kun."

* * *

**Update: 04/22/2020**

Grammar


	11. Off-Season Horror

**Chapter 11: Off-Season Horror**

(**[Field type] Dungeon - Tranquil Meadows** {F-rank})

(Church basement - Mad Laboratory)

Both conscious kunoichi and their fairy stared at where the tall glass tube used to be with dread. The lights had yet to turn back on but the other two jars proved enough light to show the entity that had been birth.

The monster had the basic shape of a human but it was about 7ft tall as it stood on its two legs. Observing they noted that while the legs were normal the chest and arms of this creature seems to be made of pure muscle. With the amount of physical mass, its torso contained it shouldn't be possible for the monster to stand on its legs as it so easily did. The arms ended each in five blade sharp bones with the longest being a foot long. However, it was the entity's skin that truly showed they were dealing with an abomination.

The reason for this was that the skin was comprised of human faces. The faces, they could tell, were from multiple men, women, and children that appeared to have been melded together through either burned flesh or sowed in. This proved, even more, disturbing the creature's bald head which had four faces; one on the front, one on each side and one on the back.

All of the eyes were opened and glaring at them with a purple-green ethereal glow. Adding to the horror show all of the mouths, except for the main face, were clattering their teeth in wait for a meal.

"**Scan!**" Naruko called out all three girls saw the information.

* * *

Priest Mathew [Lv 10] ~Abomination of Science~

HP: 3,500

MP: 300

ATK 050

DEF 019

SPD 005

INT 001

**Description** \- Once a man of the cloth and natural sciences this priest used alchemy to help others. Regretfully the inability to save a sweet child from an incurable disease drove him into an obsession with finding a cure for death. This soon led him to practice the forbidden arts of human transmutation. However, his mind was not enough to survive his experiment for everlasting life. Now only the monument to his sins and ultimate failure exist.

**Techniques** – Call of the Dammed, Putrid Vomit, Desolation Claw and Shadow Beam

**Special Traits** – Husk Creation and Soul Devouring

* * *

"I'm almost afraid to ask but what is human transmutation, Benihime?" Naruko asked. At the same time, the lights came back on and they now looked at the thing in front of them in all its grotesque glory.

"We'll buy the DVDs of Fullmetal Alchemists and Brotherhood later. For now, get ready for a fight!" the redhead fairy announced as the abomination bellowed again. This time however the whole room shook with the force of it.

[Priest Mathew used **Call of the Dammed**!]

[Enemy reinforcements incoming…]

"I can see summoning pools!" Hinata announced as she spotted multiple chakra pools from around various surfaces of the room. Hearing this Naruko quickly handed the shivering and muttering Ino to the Byakugan user.

"Take her and back away into a position where you can defend both of yourself and her. I'll deal with the boss," the game announced while summoning back her shield and axe.

"But my level is higher! I should help you fight that monster," Hinata protested while holding onto Ino with one arm and her naginata in the other. Naruko grinned as zombies started to rise from the ground.

"It's better you to protect Ino-chan because you're a higher level than me. As I am now, I can't guarantee our safety if I have to protect someone that can't fight back against this many enemies. You, on the other hand, can cleave through these mobs with ease and from a safe distance," Naruko answered and quickly handed Hinata the vials of holy water. "Here! Take these. Just splash or break them on the monsters and they burst into flames."

After saying this the Uzumaki turned to the monsters and gave a battle cry to get the attention of the monsters. Before Hinata could try and to rebuttal this order the blonde was already running into battle.

[BGM: Bloody Tears (Castlevania SotN)]

The first few zombies that had crawled out the floor set their eyes on Naruko. However, she was too fast for them as her axe easily split in half the head of one. Next, the Uzumaki coated her shield with chakra and swung it at another.

"**Shield Bash**!" the whiskered girl called out the skill she learned after having used her shield offensively enough times during this exploration. Then, Naruko rammed the side of her shield into the head of another undead. The impact not only smashed the creature's forehead in and also snapped its head back with enough force to dislocate its neck. With those two dead Naruko quickly wrenched her axe out of the first zombie's head and rapidly swung to her right to decapitate the third zombie.

After this, she jumped over the falling bodies and ran to the next set of undead creatures. The Uzumaki easily cleared them by putting the hide shield up and shoulder charging the bumbling creatures. This left the path to the abomination clear for her to start the true fight. What was once Priest Mathew growled at the event and shot a claw at her with tremendous speed. Naruko saw this and tried to backpedal away but slipped on the wet floor around the creature.

The error, however, proved fortuitous as the claw sailed pass her head without damage. Trying to make the most out of the opportunity she continued to ride the slide with axe and shield at the ready. In an instant, she reached the lower metal ring of that tube the monster was in, used it to stabilize herself and took a swing at its legs. The blade of the weapon stroke true as it sank into the abominations shin which caused it to howl in pain. Yet the pain was not enough to stop it from forming a fist to try and smash the small kunoichi into the ground. Naruko knew that would happen and had already dislodged the weapon as she rolled left.

What she hadn't put into account was the stone floor exploding once the fist impacted with it. Thus, the Uzumaki found herself being blown away from the shockwave. Thinking quickly, she used her wings to jump mid-air to cancel the momentum and flip onto her feet.

"Watch out!" Benihime called out just as Naruko landed. Hearing this the whiskered girl looked at the monster only feel a shiver as the monster's claws were covered in dark purple energy. Without a second thought, Naruko double-jump onto the ceiling to avoid the vicious swipe thrown her away. Using chakra, she quickly attached herself to the roof with her back before flip onto her feet.

This was just in time to see the wave to purple shadow energy fly through where she had been and slice apart the bookshelf that had been behind her. Seeing wood, papers and other materials rot away into oblivion told her everything she needs to know about **Desolation Claw** effects. Then the abomination roared again…

[Priest Mathew used **Call of the Dammed**!]

[Enemy reinforcements incoming…]

"Oh, come on!" Naruko cursed as rotting arms and head started coming out the roof surrounding her. Canceling the flow of chakra to her feet she landed back on the ground to turn back toward the boss. The failed experiment responded to this with a thrust aimed at the blonde's chest.

"Block it!" Benihime begged while floating above the battlefield. The Uzumaki heard the suggestion and instead got an idea. Thus, Naruko jumped which the monster responded in kind by redirected its claw upward and with a smirk, the Uzumaki jumped again. Then crouched in mid-air, put her shield below her feet, landed on the extended arm and shield-suffer the way down.

"Take this you FREAK!" the small dare-devil exclaimed while taking a swing at the monster's neck as she passed. Between the force of the swing and the build-up momentum of the slide, the axe blade had no problem with slicing open the flesh on the creature's neck. Understandably Mathew roared in pain as putrid green liquid spurt out of its wound. Naruko, on the other hand, grabbed her shield, landed on the ground and turn to admire the new wound. The results made the game go a little green with disgust as a tentacle exploded out of the bleeding opening.

The tentacle began to trash and bulged into a pulsating mass of flesh that soon exploded to reveal an emaciated human shape. The creature, that was more reminiscing of bag stretched over a skeleton, looked at Naruko and screeched as it launched itself towards her. Disgusted with this Husk the girl used **Shield Bash** to slap it away from her. The attack made sure to eradicate the creature single HP without delay. However, Naruko immediately grew to regret this action as the Husk burst similar to a water balloon upon its death and covered her in a green-purple slug.

The substance both smelled and tasted horrendous enough for Naruko to lose her stomach and her eyes to burn. This, in turn, left the gamer completely unprepared for the punch from the abomination. The attacking limb had no problem in slamming her into the wall with enough force to make a small crater. Naruko, as the air left her, didn't know if she managed to scream out in pain from the possible crushed ribs but she could now taste her blood.

"NARU-KUN!" Hinata yelled out from the other side of the room.

After the Uzumaki had taken off to fight Hinata had backed away to find a place to secure Ino from the incoming horde. That, however, had proved a far more difficult task as zombies and skeleton kept materializing around them. As previous battles had shown the undead were very weak against her attacks yet what they lack in quality they were making it up with the sheer quantity. Not to mention wielding a naginata one-handed was proving rather difficult for the young and inexperienced Hyuga.

It also didn't help that Ino was actively fighting her protection as she thrashed about and screaming while holding her head. Hinata had only paid enough attention to the Yamanaka for her Byakugan to see chakra pooling into the girl's brain. That would've explained why she was clutching her head in pain however that didn't answer the "Shut up!" or "Stop screaming!" she kept crying out in tears. Regretfully the relentless attacks of the monsters didn't let Hinata explain Ino's chakra further. Hence why she also hadn't given Naruko any support.

However, her Byakugan had managed to detect a large buildup of mana from the creature and she had heard Benihime's first warning. Seeing Naruko dodge the swipe put Hinata at ease and she had gotten back to fighting the annoying undead horde. Then she heard the crash and the Uzumaki's HP drop into the red. Panicking Hinata called out to the girl which distracted the boss-type monster enough to look at her. The Hyuga's distress seemed to amused it as it grinned at her while grabbing the Uzumaki in its giant left hand and turned to her. Then the abomination opened its mouth wide.

Thanks to the Byakugan seeing the buildup of dark energy going into the creature's maw Hinata didn't need the warning text box. Hinata quickly scanned around for an escape and seeing none opted to make her own. Thus, she kicked a zombie on her right as hard as she could, took a firm stance and poured chakra into her naginata.

"**Lotus Lance**!" she called out as the weapon was bathed in holy light. Then launched the 5-hit combo into the horde while making sure to take the longest steps possible during each strike. Each holy empowered hit burned through four undead at a time and carved a big enough tunnel for Hinata and her passenger escape. Seconds later the large abomination released the dark energy it had collected into a dark purple beam which disintegrated the remains of the horde that had surrounded the princesses.

[Priest Mathew core is overheated.]

[**Soul Devouring** process beginning…]

After this announcement, the _Abomination of Science_ closed its smoking mouth. To Hinata's horror, the torso of the creature started to convulse as the stitching and burns around the faces seem to slowly tear itself apart. Then in one sickening motion, the monster's chest ripped itself open to reveal a normal size human torso. The torso had tubes and wires melted or infused into its skin connecting it to the utter layer of skin. In its arms, it hugged a pink-purple crystal with black spots the size of an adult's head. The crystal then pulsed which unleashed a wave of black mana that crossed over the entire room in an instant.

In reaction to this Ino's screams and struggling became too loud and violent. Hence, Hinata was forced to let her go for fear of the Yamanaka hurting her. It also didn't help that the pulse of energy made her feel like someone had just tried to squeeze her heart and pull it out in a single gesture. Check to see her HP had taken a -25 showed that might have been the case. Adding to the experience was the Byakugan now seeing blue orbs with white smoke coming out of them now floating around the room. The next thing Hinata noticed was the black tendrils wrapping the orbs and dragging them into the crystal.

However, the two whips that truly worried her were the ones that pierced Naruko's chest and the purple one now connected to Ino's head. Both females were screaming in pain at this and to Hinata's horror, she could see Naruko's apparent soul being pulled out. Benihime was trying her best to push the Uzumaki's soul back in but the crystal's pull was proving stronger.

"Li… Li… LIGHT!" Ino screamed/plead at her blue-haired friend. The cry managed to stop Hinata from going into full panic mode as she tried to understand what the girl meant.

'_What light? How can light help us beat this?!_' the Hyuga asked herself as the grip on her weapon tighter. '_Wait… light?_' she thought before her eyes went wide and she yelled "Holy magic!" After this, she quickly shoves her hand into the hidden pocket below Ino's scarf where she had stored the vails of holy water Naruko had given her. "Please let this work," Hinata begged after pulling them out. Then she opened two of them and poured them on the blade of her weapon.

Once done Hinata stepped back, took aim and launched her naginata like a javelin at the abomination chest. However, given this was her first time throwing such a weapon her technique was flawed and missed the chest entirely. Instead, it flew to the right passed Naruko's head, missed cutting her ear off by a hair, and impaling into the abomination's left shoulder. Yet her creativity bore fruit as the holy water reacted with the dark magic inside Mathew's body in a violent fashion. This was shown by the way the shoulder was ignited in blue flames that made the creature howl in terror and pain.

In desperation, the monster stabbed its right claw into its burning side and ripped off the appendage. The arm still holding onto Naruko fell as it became consumed by the bluish fire in a flash. Hinata would have fallen on her knees in despair when she saw her newfound crush be engulphed by the fire it not her Byakugan. Her eyes showed that instead of the Uzumaki being burned alive the fire ate away the black tendril and seem to empower the girl's soul with a membrane of light magic. Thanks to this Benihime was finally able to push the soul orb back into its proper housing.

The adrenaline rush for getting back her soul was all Naruko need to ignore any pain in her body was in right now. Hence why she could get up, grabbed the thrown naginata and bolt towards Hinata as if she hadn't been just moments from death mere seconds ago. Halfway through the run, Naruko did a sliding tackle to reach Hinata and the suffering Ino. Once in the middle of the two she handed the naginata back to the Valkyrie and summoned her shield.

"Here! Using that healing ward now," Naruko commanded while panting in exhaustion due to only being at 20HP. Then the Uzumaki placed herself slightly in front of her teammates with her shield up and ready to defend them. The corrupt priest did not look happy about its missing limp.

"One moment," Hinata announced after grabbing the weapon and opened another vial of holy water. '_If this worked for Naru-kun then it should work for Ino-chan,_' she prayed and poured the water onto the Yamanaka's forehead. The cleansing fire almost immediately covered the girl in its protection as it burned away the purple tentacle attaching her brain to the crystal. Weirdly it wasn't monster that reacted to this but the crystal that now shinned angrily. Hinata didn't pay it much attention as now Ino was seemed to be resting calmly. "**Healing Ward**!"

Once the shaft hit the ground a circle of healing magic wrote itself into existence below the girls and started to heal them. Naruko greatly appreciated it as she could now feel broken bones step back into place and cracks slowly mending themselves. However, as the regeneration continued, she took note of how well the light element was working for this fight and she decided to go all out. Thus, the Uzumaki took out the Holy Book and started reading the one-time spell.

"_Oh, the holy father that guides us through this world of your creation._" Mathew almost seems to recognize the power radiating from the book as he growled in defiance. "_Lend me thy strength in our time of need._" The abomination rose its remaining claw into the air and covered it once more in shadows. "_Shine my path forward!_" Naruko yelled and flung the book like a shuriken right above the monster head. "**Northern Star**!"

The book exploded into a bright orb of white light that shined down onto the entire room. Surprising to Hinata, she could pensive the orb as something with a high degree of brightness but it didn't seem to hurt her Byakugan at all and the same could be said about Naruko's eye. This, however, was the opposite of the abominating who bellowed in utter horror and pain as its whole body seem to blister or tear itself at the seams to try and get away from the burning light. Then it swung the **Desolation Claws**…

"Oh shit!" Naruko cursed and tried to put her shield up. The ward was still going so Hinata could move and with Ino out of commission, the only one who could protect them was her. The gamer gulped, closed her eyes and hoped the light had been enough to depower that attack.

"No."

…

…

…

"Huh?" That was what both Hinata and Naruko ask when nothing happened. The whiskered girl blinked and look over her shield. She was forced to blink again as she could not imagine what she was seeing. When nothing happened, she had thought the attack had at the very least miss of something. But seeing the five dark waves just floating there being held by an invisible force demonstrated that was _not_ the chase.

"I wouldn't _***pant***_ let you hurt _***pant***_ my friends," Ino's tried voiced announced from below. Both of the other girls and fairy quickly turned to the previously unconscious teammate in surprise. Ino was still on the floor, face and hair wet from being slash with holy water and exhaustion was extending her right arm with the palm open and seemingly holding the rot inducing wave by her will alone. Then she started to stand up with great difficulty. Both of the humans and fairy noted how Ino's nose started to bleed.

"I wouldn't let _***pant***_ you hurt them like _***pant***_ you did those people!" The Yamanaka heiress proclaimed with the ferocity of a lioness.

Then in one harsh motion, Ino lifted her left hand and Hinata felt the last two vials of holy water be wrenched from her hand. The small bottles now floated in the air only to shatter when Ino closed her hand. She then commanded the water into the darkwave and closed the hand holding it at bay. This forced the dark energy to be compressed around the water which caused a very volatile reaction.

"V-V-Violet?" Naruko asked slightly worried as she saw the small sphere shake, rattle, convulse and bursting in patches of blue flames. She also noted that the mind walker's nosebleed had progressed to almost looked like Ino had taken a brick to the face. The worry was soundly ignored.

"Burn," Ino growled and shoved both hands forward.

Following the order of her mistress, the chaos orb erupted into a jet of purple and blue flames. The dual-colored inferno roared without mercy into Mathew and in an instant the creature found itself bathed in burning chaos. Howls and cries of pain both human and not could be heard the flames left no area untouched. Benihime, Hinata, and Naruko just stared mouth agape at the sudden display of power that their "weakest member" now displayed against the abomination. Yet Ino could only keep the jet of flames going for three more seconds before her eyes rolled back and her body started to tumble forward.

"Ino-chan!" Naruko called out and quickly caught the girl before she hit the ground.

"It's still not dead," Hinata commented as her Byakugan saw the abomination still had a sliver of health left. Thankfully the flames looked to have taken all of the monster's stamina as well since it could barely move any more pain.

"Then kill it," Naruko suggests as she cradled Ino and let Benihime scan her. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan. After that it's super weak, so all you have to do is hit that crystal. That's more than likely his weak point given how it's flashing. Besides at this point, I don't care who gets the kill."

Hinata nodded as she too wanted to didn't want to deal with this monster anymore. Hence, now that she could move again, she speed-walked to the barely alive creature and aimed her weapon. Then she flawlessly unleashed the **Lotus Lance** into the core crystal. The satisfaction of seeing all five hits be declared CRITICAL was only matched when the crystal shattered from the final strike. This cause a small chain reaction of hundreds of souls come screaming out of the abomination as the rest of its stitched body dismantled until only the main human body was left.

The last human face, probably the real priest, looked at himself in horror before looking at Hinata with anger. He forced his malnutrition body to ran at her with the fully intent of killing her. One single swing of the naginata was all it took to decapitate the sad husk of a man.

* * *

[**Congratulations! You've won!**]

[You've gain 500XP]

[Loot: Skill Scroll - Desolation Claw, Soul Stone |Special Item|, Leather Face Mask |Common| [Head], and 50 silver coins]

[Naruko Uzumaki has leveled up!]

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv5] ~Trickster Queen~

Job: Novice

XP: 117 / 461

HP: 118 + 22 = 140

MP: 1,513 + 70 = 1,583

ATK: 016 + 1 = 017

DEF: 034 + 1 = 035

AGI: 014 + 1 = 015

VIT: 010 + 1 = 011

INT: 018 + 1 = 19

SPR: 269 + 6 = 275

PER: 010 + 1 = 011

Attribute Points: 0000 + 10 = 10

[Ino Yamanaka has leveled up!]

Ino Yamanaka [Lv19] ~The Gossip Queen~

Job: Ninja Academy Student

XP: 266 / 3018

HP: 1,800 + 100 = 1,900

MP: 935 + 55 = 1,045

* * *

"Damn. Had she train a little more our savior here could've class change," Naruko commented at seeing the victory notifications.

Not two seconds later the door to the room exploded into splitters thanks to Kakashi's lighting covered hand.

The girls blinked.

The two jonin and Hokage blinked.

Silence.

…

…

…

"Did we miss anything?" Kakashi finally asked after seeing the state of the room.

"Heh, name one time when the authority arrives on time in a horror movie?" Naruko questioned back with an amused chuckled.

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

[Abandoned Church - ground floor]

When Ino woke up the first thing she felt was a splitting headache. The thumping was as if her brain wanted to kick its way out of her skull while it was also trying to melt its way out of her nose. All in all, the Yamanaka could only hold her head and moan in pain. Thankfully pain subsided a bit when a pair of hands slowly imbued her head in a soothing sensation.

"Hah, thanks. That feels really nice," Ino sighed happily. Then she heard a familiar chuckle.

"Thanks for the review. Hinata-chan is better at this thanks to her Jūnken but I can still help with **Frist-Aid**," Naruko commented. A couple of seconds later the flow of her chakra was cut.

Ino sighed, slowly sat up and carefully opened her eyes in case the light would hurt her eyes. Thankfully the soft afternoon light entering through the broken windows and gaps in the wall didn't cause pain. Then she turned to thank Naruko and had to blink her eyes multiple times to see if what was in front of her was real. The Uzumaki noticed the look and laughed before standing up to give a small twirl.

Ino still couldn't believe it.

Right beside her now stood a Naruko Uzumaki with long flowing orange hair with white highlights that reach her ankles, long pointy ears, purple skin, golden eyes with star pupils, narrow rectangular glasses and goddamn platinum shark teeth.

"So, what do you think about my dark elf form? Pretty awesome, right?" the girl asked. Ino could already feel the headache coming back with a vengeance.

"Freaking stupid and- Ouch! Dammit, my head!" Ino cursed as her brain started kicking her skull again.

"Guess it's worse when your awake, huh?" Naruko noted. "Here put this circlet for now. One of the books we found on the bookshelves in the lad was a recipe for a psionic dampener. Thankfully it also had the magic stones needed to make it so I forged one for you."

"The heck is a psionic dampener?" the Yamanaka asked but still put on the headgear. Immediately the pain started to go away however now she felt like her head was wrapped up in too many blankets. At least the circlet felt very comfortable and the cold was just right.

"I have no idea," the Uzumaki answered and added, "Beni-chan said you're just suffering the fallback of overusing your psionic abilities. But she wouldn't explain what they were except to tell you to ask your parents about them. Seems it has something to do with your bloodline limit. Hinata-chan also said her Byakugan noticed that chakra now flow more freely into your brain. It's like it got a power-up."

Ino's head was still a bit foggy so she took the explanation at face value. At the same time, she took in her surroundings to see that, yes, they were on the temple's ground floor and she had been resting one of the benches facing the altar. Also, they had provided her with a pillow and right now only Naruko was there with her.

"Okay, two questions: Why did you transform into that? And, where is everybody else?" the blonde inquired shapeshifting companion. In return, she got a sharp shiny grin.

"Well, this sexy transformation is thanks to this mirror Kurenai-sensei found," Naruko explained and pulled out a full-length body mirror. Then she stood before it as a window popped up and she clicked something. Ino's eyebrows almost rose past her hairline as the whiskered elf's changes seem to burn or melt away until Naruko was back to her original form except for the glasses which stayed on.

"When she was looking around, she found it in a bedroom and could detect the mirror could create powerful illusions. Once she touched it, the mirror became an item in her temporary inventory. It was only after she rejoined with us and we got out the catacombs that we could see what it could do.

Turns out it's an Avatar Editor but it only works for me. Now I can't change my looks to a lot of weird combinations. It's like having a whole costume department and makeup crew all to myself! Though I still have to buy the clothes and I have to at least now how a hairstyle looks like before being able to use it.

Oh, and the glasses are real. Found them in one of the desks in the lab. They give +5 INT and since I need intelligence to understand magic, I'll just keep using them. Weirdly enough they have no prescription and I see the same with or without them. Probably a quirk of it being a game item.

As for everyone else? They're in the back with Beni-chan investigation which books from the laboratory to keep and which to destroy. Although is mostly Beni-chan doing the ready as she can read ridiculously fast. Like I genuinely saw her read one of those super thick books in seconds. Anyway, I'm here because it was my turn to look after you. It's been like 3hrs since you knocked yourself out after using those new powers. Never thought you could do that. It was freaking awesome!"

"I didn't either," Ino confessed while trying to process all of that information. The dampener was making it hard to think straight but thankfully her mental training was helping somewhat. "I don't know why but I could _hear_ the souls in the crystal screaming and pleading to be set free. But they were all so loud I just couldn't handle it.

Though there was one that was trying to help me by building a shield against the worst of it. Then right before the link was cut, they taught me how to "grab" things with my mind. I _think_ that what I ended up doing in the end but I can't really explain it better than that. This is the first time I've ever done something like this."

"Well, Beni-chan said your parents would somehow know more about this. So, I guess we'll have to wait. Anyway, lets met up with the others," Naruko suggested and after picking everything up they moved towards the back of the building. There they found Benihime reading a book as Hinata handed one to Hiruzen so he could burn with a low-power fire jutsu. "Hey! Everyone! Our sleepy savior finally woke up!"

After this, the group chatted about what transpired after they separated, the boss fight and the exist out of the catacombs. They started with Kurenai who had found the magical mirror when she had located a bedchamber. Turned out she had fought the least as the area barely had any monsters besides a couple of bats, rats, and spiders. Regretfully besides the mirror that only Naruko could use all she found were clothing, a few pieces of jewelry and random knickknacks.

The Sandaime had been a lot more fortunate as he had found the library. While unable to read the language, he could already guess the possible fountain of knowledge this could provide after Naruko learned to translate into their langue. He also got to experience a whole new level of hatred for paperwork as some books came to life and tried their best to eat him. It explained why he had volunteered to be the book burner. Everyone chose to ignore the complete glee in the old man's eyes as he burned the forbidden pages and tomes.

Next came Kakashi who ended with the short end of the stick among the adults. It seemed, his path had just led to one monster nest after the other no matter which way or room he went to. Hell, even the one treasure chest he had managed to find turned out to be a mimic. Oh, but it wasn't just any other mimic because the designer of the dungeon hated him. The mimic had been a mama and all 3,000 coins inside of her had been her babies who were still too young to transform into anything else.

"So… many… legs… and _teeth_," the silver-haired jonin muttered with a dead look and a twitching hand the sparked with some electricity. Naruko hugged as she found another compatriot in the battle to exterminate mimics.

After this, the adults explained that they had gotten the warning of the girls encountering the dungeon boss. Immediately they had drop what they were doing and ran towards their location. However, the presence of the boss seemed to have made the monsters turn feral as their numbers and ferocity multiplied. They had still been weak but the quantity was enough to slow down all three experienced shinobi. Hence why they only reach the laboratory after the abomination was kill. Thankfully, given how they didn't encounter any monsters on the way up, killing the corrupted priest was all that was needed to cleanse the area of monsters.

"These are the last of them," Benihime announced as she pointed to the four books Hinata had to get to their fire-maker. "The books behind Kurenai are history, myths, legends, and either personal or professional journals. The ones behind Kakashi are different fields of science and theories on magic. Finally, the one's behind me are all related to the various field of alchemy. Once you put them in your inventory a [Books] tab will be created and they will be sorted correctly. You'll even have the option of sorting and searching them by type."

"Thank you for the work everyone," Naruko appreciated and accepted the practical library. '_Unless I learn to multiply myself, I doubt I'll live enough to read all of this,_' she thought to herself.

"Glad to see you okay Ino-san," Hinata said before walking over to the Yamanaka and hugging her in gratitude. "Thank you for saving us."

"Y-Y-Your welcome," Ino accepted the hug with an embarrassed blush. Then when they separated, she added "Though I still don't know how that happened. Like I told Pumpkin; that's the first time I've ever done anything like that and I never heard anything about psionic abilities. Why can't you explain it Benihime-san?"

"Sorry, Ino-san. While I do know what your new abilities are, they fall under the class-specific skills. Unless you reach that plateau, I am physically unable to speak such information. However, I can give hints on how to reach that level," the redheaded fairy informed then she added "Hint: Practice the skills you have cultivated with your mother and exercise with your father."

The Yamanaka frown at this but given the fairy had also dodged the question of Naruko's potential Ino decided to not harass the living manual. Then they heard Kakashi clear his throat to get their attention.

"Sandaime-sama. Girls," Kakashi started. He shared a glance with the crimson-eyed kunoichi who nodded in return. "Last night Kurenai-san and I were talking about your education or lack of. Well, a question came up and we believe it has to be asked for your's and your classmate's safety."

"Sure. What is it?" Naruko inquired for her teammates.

"Oh… well… huh…" the cyclops tried to start. '_Fuck,_' he thought with newfound distress. Facing assassins with control over the elements? He's been doing it since his genin days. Planning and successfully orchestrating the fall of a criminal empire? No problem, just give him a pencil or a paper clip and he'll come up with something. Need to threaten or assassinate a high ranking official by making it look like an accident so as not to instigate war? He did that last week! Now, want him to ask three small preteen girls about their sexuality?

…

…

…

Yeah, he would rather face the Kyubi again. Thank you very much!

Kurenai had seen her senpai suddenly becoming tongue-tied and didn't know whether to shake her head or laugh. Still, the man's sudden problem somehow made her think better of him. At least the Copy Ninja had enough dignity to understand how wrong it looked for an adult man to ask small girls about sex.

"Girls," Kurenai started with her motherly tone. The silver-haired jonin looked like the world had been taken off his shoulders. "This will most definitely be embarrassing and uncomfortable for everyone but it needs to be asked. So, I will: How much do your three know or have been taught about sex?"

Three reactions followed this question:

Hinata's voice sounded similar to a strangled mouse as she tried to hide her luminescent blush behind her feather helmet.

Ino's eyes went as wide possible while also blushing and her mouth flapped opened and closed without a sound.

Naruko on the other hand…

"What's sex?" The complete honesty and pure confusion stunned everyone. Then she added "I know the women around my district sell it and that a lot of guys like the Head Master and Mizuki like buying it. But the women always take the men inside an apartment or into an alley. I've even asked them what they do and they always either tell me things like "surviving", "none of your business" or pad my head and tell me I'm too young to know."

While the adults stared in horror at another discovery about the Uzumaki's stunt development Ino stared in confusion.

"The heck her you talking about, Baka?" the purple kunoichi asked while frowning. "Were you not paying attention when Amagari-sensei came to visit and gave us that class? She took time off her busy schedule as a doctor in the hospital to teach us."

"Amagari-sensei? Class? The hell are you talking about?" the novice-witch questioned back.

"Dammit, my head is not ready to play games. I know you can be dumb but I refuse to believe you would forget such basic information as to how babies are made!"

"W-W-Wait," Hinata's soft voice stopped both blondes from further arguing. "I remember that day. The reason Naru-kun can't remember that day is because she wasn't there since the Head Master called her to his office. I remember because it was the first-day Naru-kun had come back from the hospital after breaking her leg in the skateboard race she had with Kiba-san."

"On yeah. I remember now. Pumpkin was still in a cast and crutches but she was called for apparently pulling a prank. I found it weird at first but minutes later Amagari-sensei came in," Ino reminisced on that embracing day. After that class, she couldn't see any boy in the face without blushing for the rest of the week. Naruko on the other hand frown.

"Oh, I remembered that day too," the Uzumaki growled with crossed arms. "I remember that bastard yelling at me for doing something that happened while I was _still_ in the hospital. Then he had the damn gal to punish me by making me stand in the hallway until he was satisfied without crutches. I'm lucky that my leg didn't end up messed up from that."

This had been the first time any of them had heard of such a thing and everyone was rightfully angered. It was almost surprising how each bit of information they learned showed a blatant dislike of the Head Master for the Uzumaki. Then Naruko blinked as if she just realized something mayor.

"Hey, girls? Did this Amaragi-sensei look anything like this?" Naruko asked before using the **Transformation Jutsu**. Once the smoke cleared, they saw a middle-aged woman of average figure and face with brown hair and eyes. It was the type of person that could easily be lost in the crowed but Hinata and Ino nodded in recognition. Naruko released the jutsu to turned back but she now sported a disgusted smile.

"Should have known. The bitch isn't a doctor let alone a nurse or a teacher. Heck, her name isn't even Amaragi but Amayaki and she was one of the caretakers of the orphanage I used to live in. As far as I know, she failed the test to became teacher multiple times and she was also one of the worst in the orphanage.

At least to me anyway and she was the one that personally kicked me out for "criminal behavior" after I picked the lock on the fridge so I could finally eat something decent that weak. Bet the only reason she even got that job is because the Head Master is always buying sex from her after she was kicked out of the orphanage."

Hiruzen was starting to become unable to understand why the small Uzumaki hadn't gone full Kyubi and ripped him apart after she learned her status as the village's jinchuriki. Each new piece of information about the girl's life seems to shove in his face his incompetence when it came to dealing with her. Even if they had been running thin on manpower after the Kyubi attack there should have been a bigger group dedicated to protecting and nurturing the girl. Maybe then she wouldn't have suffered in silence all she had. However, that was in the past and the only way he could help was in the present.

"Clearly more crimes have been committed under my nose than I thought," the Sandaime said in a serious tone. Then he asked, "Ladies, I know this will be embarrassing but we do need to know what you were taught during your Sexual Education classes?"

"Classes?" both Ino and Hinata questioned in unison and looked at each other in confusion. Then a worried Ino said "H-H-Hokage-sama… We only ever got that one."

…

…

…

"I am going to kill them." The flatness of Hiruzen's voice failed to hide the barely restrained bloodlust in his eyes. It was only thanks to him staring at the very expanse of the horizon that all three girls weren't cowering in fear. It also helped that Kurenai had dropped to her knees and taken them all into a protective hug as if a mama bear was shielding her cubs from a dangerous world. Kakashi had just decided to convert a stone wall into dust by way of a loud lighting covered hand.

It was only thanks to Benihime taking command and assigning jobs for the jonin that things became somewhat normal. Hiruzen's job became to set up at tents and cook their meal for the night. He gladly accepted as the repeated motions would let him meditate and control his anger. Kakashi's task was to build a rudimentary bath for the ladies and then boys to use from the lake beside the church. Creatively using destructive force was always a challenge he like taking on. Kurenai's role, however, was a little different…

"You want me to what?" the Genjutsu Mistress asked because she wasn't sure that she heard right. Benihime just smirked and repeated herself.

"I want you to assist me in teaching these three about sex. Cold hard truth. No sugar coating. Full impact if needed!"

The next three hours were the most embarrassing moments in the kunoichi in train short lives. Benihime, as proper and sweet as she appeared, refused to hold back anything when it came to teaching the girls. Models, diagrams, pictures or videos the small redhead made sure that they could see and, with Kurenai's very reluctant help, touch the material to understand the female anatomy. She showed, talked, explained and answered many questions, created more and still managed to answer them.

How do the female and male bodies change during puberty? That was the first 50 minutes. Masturbation and gratification? She materialized toys and showed video examples much too Kurenai's dismay. What the act of sex was? Showed them short straight, lesbian and gay softcore scenes that the illusion maker couldn't stop. How a baby is made? CGI simulation from the moment a man's seed travels to meet the woman's egg to the moment the baby was born. What are the perils of unprotected sex? By the end, the girl had taken to heart to always carry protection and never take a no as an answer for using a condom unless they were ready to be mothers.

"Any questions, ladies?" Benihime asked the three blushing and meek-looking kunoichi. It took a moment but Naruko rose a shaking hand. "Yes, Naruko-cha?"

"Is it true that some girls like taking it in the butt or was that a joke?" The only reason the Uzumaki could say that with a straight face and no stuttering was that somewhere between touching Kurenai's chest and the toys Gamer Mind had activated. That did not stop her luminescent blush for matching her teammates' ones.

"Yes. For some, it's like its very own G-spot. However, as I explained before, you should ask before doing such activities. Plus, and I can't stress this enough, _**always**_ clean before and after." The Navi answered with a teacher's voice.

"Okay. Thank you," Naruko said sitting in seiza like her friends. Then she lowered her head and refused to look at anyone. Ino and Hinata were similar only they were covering their faces with their hands to see if maybe they could stop the heat from burning their faces. Regretfully the images and sounds would not die without a fight. Kurenai for her part glared at Benihime's smug satisfied look.

"I hope you're happy because I'm pretty sure you traumatize them!"

"Better them be traumatize in a controlled and healthy environment. After all, it could be worst like them going into the internet and getting their little minds warped beyond all recognition as they are exposed to the depravities of humanity fetishizes beyond the greatest of degrees."

Before the jonin kunoichi could make an argument the Sandaime called out that food was ready. The three girls couldn't have bolted faster out of the area.

"Well, I consider this crash course a success. Now let's go eat!"

Again, the Genjutsu Mistress was left unable to argue with the fairy as she dematerialized everything they used with a snap of her fingers and flew away. It took Kurenai of seconds to realized how well the living manual had played them while still managing to give an honest and well-informed lecture on the topic. Then she could only chuckle in defeat before joining everyone else for dinner.

As the party ate in the camp the students couldn't meet each other's eyes without blushing. Hence it was up to Kurenai to give a brief summary of what was covered. Hearing how informative the lesson was the Hokage inquired if Benihime could give him a copy so he, alongside actual medical practitioners and members of the Seduction Unit could form a proper and updated course on sexual education. The fairy agreed but also made suggestions on how they would have to give this year's graduating class an accelerated version given the timeframe before said graduation.

The kage agreed as he feared what could happen should the students go out to the world without said knowledge. Regretfully, for the children, this will just be even more material that will be added for them to learn. Thankfully the Head Master would be taking all of the blame and rightfully so.

"Naruko-chan," Hiruzen suddenly called out. The girl jumped at her name and quickly looked at him with confusion. "I imagine that you would wish to take a bath alongside your friends in the hot springs Kakashi-kun created. But I will have to ask you to postpone doing so as I wish to see if you can learn a special jutsu."

"Special Jutsu?" Naruko asked with stars in her eyes. In less than a second all embarrassment, and whatever had been left on her plate, was gone and she sat in front of the old man once more in seiza. "Special Jutsu?" she asked again with sparkling eyes.

Hiruzen saw that look and could only chuckle. Hence, he finished his dish, put away the plate and told Naruko to follow him. He also instructed the heiresses to not look or interfere in any way in this training. Naruko for her part just followed while chanting "special jutsu" over and over again. Then when they finally reached behind the church the Hokage turned towards the student.

"Now, Naruko-chan. What I'm about to show and teach you is a very strong and difficult jutsu. If it wasn't for your status as a jinchuriki I wouldn't even think of doing this. The reason being that the amount of chakra needed to use this jutsu can only be achieved by the most highly trained of shinobi. Hence why this jutsu is classified as a Forbidden A-Rank Ninjutsu."

With each word, the Hokage said Naruko's grin and excitement grew a notch. Not only was she going to be trained personally by one of the strongest men known to recent history but he was going to teach her a _forbidden_ ninjutsu? Just what kind of technique could this be? An ultra-powerful fireball, summoning a gigantic thunderstorm or maybe create an army of stone? Oh, the possibilities!

Then Hiruzen used the middle and index fingers on each hand to make a cross…

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu**!" the kage called out and in a cloud of white smoke, a second Hiruzen appeared. Both spoke in perfect sync "This is the ninjutsu a want you to learn and master."

Naruko's eyes widened, her jaw dropped and her legs failed her. As the blonde fell on her knees as she tried to process what had just happened. All of this talk about a strong forbidden ninjutsu that only the strongest of shinobi could do. All of that for a lousy freaking clone jutsu? The same jutsu that was by far and large her worst? By the ramen gods, she's been tricked, she's backstabbed and she been quite possibly, bamboozled!

Only one possible reaction could give this justice.

"NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!"

X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ ~ X ~ X ~X ~ X ~ X ~ X~ X ~

By the time the first rays of light started to illuminate the world Hinata was already up. Though to be more precise she, alongside the rest of the party, hadn't gone to sleep on Kakashi's suggestion.

"By morning the timer on the gate will end so we can go home. And since it will be night time on the real world any way we may as well just stay up here so we get a full night's rest back home," was how the Hatake had phrased it. Kurenai had a chuckle at this but agreed. Then she even said they should make it a sort of a game to see who could the other awake the longest.

The poor academy students who at this time hadn't have any training on functioning through lack of sleep didn't stand a chance. Any time they had been even close to falling asleep they got woken up by a loud noise, getting their face splashed with cold water or pelted by small objects. Adding to this was Ino still suffering for her headaches that now came in waves and Hinata's worries of Naruko.

They had all heard that girl's scream after leaving with the Hokage. It was kind of hard not to when it was so filled with so much anger and despair. Kakashi had quickly gone to check and a few moments later came back still chuckling. So, the girls summarized that it must have been Naruko's penchant for the overdramatic at the weirdest of things. It still didn't help ease Hinata's worries as she could see the Uzumaki's MP constantly being drained, at times to almost nothing, and then quickly refilled only for the cycle repeat itself. Then at some point, her crush's HP also started taking hits but thankfully they were single-digit losses that recovered by themselves.

"Just what type of training was she getting?" Hinata thought to herself.

"What was that?" Ino grouchily question while resting her head on the Hyuga's shoulder. Both girls now sport noticeable rings under their eyes. They were also sitting on a bench in the church watching the jonin. Neither of the adults seems to have been affected by having stayed up all night.

"Oh, I said that out loud? Sorry, but I'm worried about Naru-kun," the bluenette said. The blond just sighed and rose into a more normal sitting position as she yawned.

"I wouldn't worry too much. Little Pumpkin is with both Benihime and Sandaime-sama. I really _***yawn***_ doubt those two would let her do something stupid that could get her killed. Plus, we kind of need her alive to get out of here anyway. Ouch, stupid headaches."

Hearing this Hinata giggled a little as she used her chakra to give her friend a soft massage. The Yamanaka sighed with joy as the pain was soothed away by those gentle hands. As this was happening everyone heard a chime go off around them.

* * *

[Punishment time has been concluded. The seal placed on The Gate has been lifted.]

[Players are now allowed to exit the dungeon.]

[Thank you for playing.]

* * *

"It seems we can return home," Hiruzen voice could be heard saying. The shinobi turned to see him entering the church followed by Benihime and Naruko being carrying Naruko on her shoulders.

Wait, what?

Both Ino and Hinata did a double-take and stared at the identical Uzumaki twins. They were covered in cuts, bruises, slight burns, sweat, and dirt from training all night thought one being carried seem to be sleeping. Then two more Narukos walked in holding different items. Naruko #3 had Hinata's regular ninja clothes neatly folded in her arms. Naruko #4 was holding ninja pouches of different colors and designs. The pouches were: lavender with the Hyuga emblem, purple with Yamanaka emblem, dark blue with a pug and red with pedals.

"Hinata-chan, you're drooling," Ino whispered with a smirk. The lavender girl jumped and discreetly wiped herself clean just as the second pair of Narukos reach then. The first to speak was N3…

"Here you go, Hinata-ojousama. Anego found them in her inventory last night. Benihime-san explained that they were transferred there after your class change since you didn't have an inventory at the time." With that N3 gave the princess her clothing with a grin. Hinata accepted them with a blush dusted face and a small thank you.

"I suggest you change back," Benihime said. "It would look weird for you to walk around decked in armor and weapons all of a sudden. Plus, there is no need to worry about misplacing your items." After saying that N4 started handing the ninja circular pouches.

"Hokage-sama was correct in taking the library for all it was worth. It was a treasure trove of recipes for lots of potions or useful items. Anego also learned that recipes can be learned immediately without consuming a skill learning chance. One of those recipes was how to make these Bags of Holding.

Anego thought it was unfair that only she could enjoy the spoils of victory. Therefore, she had a few of us clones make these for you guys. Regretfully since her level isn't high enough, we could only make beginner level bags. Hence why they can only hold 50 different times, 20 of the same healing items, 10 equal combat items and 50 of the same material."

Each person grabbed their personal pouch and blinked. The students accepted theirs with gratitude as the items were both useful, of good quality leather and stylish. The two jonin, on the other hand, could only stare as the brains tried to rationalize that they have been given a reality-bending item on a child's whim. Once more Kurenai tried to be the voice of reason or at least the one that tried to find it.

"U-U-Uzumaki… This… You can just give people the ability to have and inventory like your own? Do you even know how this could affect the world?" she asked already thinking how this could change everything on the battlefield. Just how many people would be saved from having multiple medical supplies? Not to mention that since the size wasn't a problem now the only limit for traveling would only be your stamina and the terrain as you wouldn't be burden by the weight of your supplies.

'_This is incredible! With just one bag she can change the way the world works! If she sells starts making and selling these Naruko-chan more than likely would never need to work on the field ever again. She would have a total monopoly on one of the most coveted items in the entire world. Both civilians and shinobi alike would pay an arm and a leg for this convenience!_' she thought. Then the group heard a groan, almost identical to the zombies they fought yesterday, coming from the Naruko being carried.

"Yes, I know what this means," the original Naruko answered. Then the blonde lifted her head and she did look at tiered blue eyes that shined with satisfaction. "After I managed to make an actual shadow clone and Jiji showed me they could learn things for me we had them do tasks. One of them was creating a Bag of Holding from one of the recipes I learned from the library. Once I created one and explained what it was Jiji made sure to teach me about the possible consequences of such an item being known to the public.

I'll admit that it wasn't until then that remembered that we don't live in a world where not having a bag that could hold anything is normal. Sure, we have storage scroll but unlike me and these bags/pouches, they do have weight, size and amount limits. Therefore, I chose to only make six of these; one for each of you and that last one for my sister. If I make another one it will be for my children.

I refuse to keep making these for the rest of my life or be the catalyst of war because of some stupid higher up in the social chain thinks the price of the bag is too high."

"That's might be a good option Naruko-chan," Kakashi said while admiring the small stitched Pakun on his. Then he opened it and the interior was a pack of lightning wolves running. "By the way, how did your clones manage to make each of our pouches this personalized?" This question earned him a smirk from the oldest shinobi there.

"Oh, that?" Hiruzen asked before chuckling. "She needed a lock of your hair and at least a drop of blood. I took the liberty of acquiring of gathering the materials last night while one of my clones guarded her."

"Guess that explains the single mosquito bite," the Hatake grumbled at how easily the kage had got past his defense. The other three victims instinctively went to scratch the place they had also that they had been bitten; Kurenai her neck, Ino the back of her hand and Hinata above her elbow. All three had eyes wide in surprise as they hadn't even felt the blood being drawn and instead only reacted to the itching. Hiruzen seeing these reactions gave a loud and happy grandfatherly laugh.

"Hah, it does this old heart good to know I can still run circles around you, youngsters," he said with a smirk. "Now, I'm sure we all want to get back home to our proper beds. Therefore, let us pack up and head towards the gate."

At the order, the group stood up and went to work getting everything back into Naruko's inventory. After that Hinata put her new armor and weapon into her new pouch and changed back to her shirt, pants and cream color hoodie. Once this was done the group started to travel towards the hill where the gate was. This time they made sure to avoid as many enemies as possible however the clones 3 and 4 did gather more materials from the ground as they move.

Thankfully due to taking a direct route and avoiding battles the party reaches the entrance in less than an hour. There they saw the cave entrance with a white orb floating in front of it. By this time Naruko had recovered enough to stand on her own two feet and dispelled her clones before walking towards the sphere. Then she touched it…

"World Gate hear my command and open the exist: **Konohagakure**!"

Like the first time the world broke and distorted into a white pixelated spiral. This time the group was ready and walked into the portal without fear. The transfer between game and reality was near-instantaneous. Although the sudden change from day to night was disorienting at the start everyone agreed that they were glad to be back. They took a few moments to take in their world before the Sarutobi asked Naruko to transport them to the Hokage Office.

In one quick **Fast Travel,** the group was in front of the office though this time both Hinata and Ino made sure the grab onto the whiskered who couldn't stop the blush upon feeling her friend's bodies pressed against hers. After this, the team was disbanded and Naruko yawned from exhaustion.

"Well, _***yawn***_ I'm going home to sleep. See ya all later," Naruko said as she opened the fast travel window.

"Wait!" Ino suddenly called out. The Uzumaki and the rest turned to her with a raised eyebrow. The princess ignored the stares "Look, I know we don't see eye to eye most of the time. But after that dungeon, I think it would be best if we at least start over. We don't have to be friends but I know if I stay with you and Hinata-chan I'll get stronger. So, why don't you come home with me for the night? Mom probably already has a hot meal and bath waiting anyway."

There were three different reactions to this:

The adults and fairy looked proud at how the girl just admitted wanting to better herself and was willing to start by making an ally of a former enemy. Hinata, however, felt conflicted because, on one hand, this meant Naruko would have another friend which was always welcome for the lonely Uzumaki. On the other hand, she felt extremely jealous over the fact that the supposed Sasuke fangirl was moving in on her territory.

'_Naru-kun is __**my**__ gay crush, dammit! Get your own!_' Hinata's hormonal mind screamed though thankfully this time she managed to stay silent.

The Uzumaki's reaction, however, was not what anyone expected.

"Please don't do that," Naruko said with a small frown before explaining herself "I understand you want my help in getting stronger. I actually admire that and will help you if you ask. Heck, I'm willing to be your friend after today but don't try to invite me to your home like you're doing me a favor. Everyone in our class knows I'm an orphan that goes back to an empty house each day and no one ever bothered to give me asylum before."

"Hey! I'm trying to-"

"However!" Naruko interrupted before smirking "If say you plan something like a sleepover between you, Hinata and I for later and with your parent's permission it's a whole other story. That way all three of us can have fun by playing board or videogames, eat junk food and talk the whole night away. Heck, for Hinata you could just have your parents write a letter saying this could improve relations between clan or something. Just make sure not to mention me in said later so the chance of success is higher."

After hearing this Ino had to blink once and then twice before bursting into giggles.

"What the heck?" she asked after getting control back thought she still had a smirk on. "You don't want charity but a party is okay? Is that it?"

"Yep," the Uzumaki answered without a hint of shame on her grin. "It more fun after all. Anyway, I think this is where we part for today. Maybe we'll see each other tomorrow if not see you on Monday. Oh, and Violet. Make sure to ask your mom and dad about those psionic powers. There was a literal blast and I want to see more!"

"Will do," Ino promised with a smile. "See you later and don't worry. I'll make sure the three of us have that sleepover."

With that, the group waved good-bye to the Uzumaki for the night as she disappeared into the sky. After this, they separated with Hiruzen, under the guard of ANBU just materialized, went to the Hokage Mansion to rest before the mountain of paper that was sure to be waiting for him the next morning. Kurenai as would be expected of as a guardian took Hinata back to the Hyuga. That felt Kakashi how had agreed to escort Ino back to her parents while also provide a good excuse for why the girl was this later and roughed up.

All in all, this was a good conclusion for the first dungeon.

* * *

**Arthur's Note:**

I forgot to say this in the previous chapter but if you want to get a better image of how Hinata's looks like you should search for Aeleen from Dragalia Lost. Only difference the chest plate completely covers the torso. No midriff or cleavage to show.

* * *

**UPDATE: **Noticed a light error in math. Following my rules to increase MP I missed points of Naruko's MP. I'll be looking out for this from now on.


	12. Weekend Training

**Chapter 12: Weekend Training**

"We're finally doing this then, huh?" Naruko asked with some dread as she stared at the building in front of her.

"Better now than never," Benihime announced while resting on the Uzumaki's shoulder.

After arriving home last night Naruko had just simply crashed on her bed in exhaustion and only woke up in the morning due to her alarm. It was by some miracle she hadn't destroyed that infernal machine as her body rose. This was followed by her putting on workout clothes and automatically going through the exercise regimen. Then when the girls got back home Naruko summoned two shadow clones to make breakfast as she finally got a hot bath.

Once that was done, she equipped all of her repaired leather gear alongside the thief gloves since the leather braces didn't cover her hands. Next, she looked for the glasses they acquired from the mad priest's laboratory and equipped them.

* * *

**{Equipment}**

**(Narrow) Rectangular Glasses |Accessory 1|**

Description: A common pair of lenses used to help the wearer read or have a better look at the world. Just wearing them makes you feel smarter!

+5 INT

* * *

Then Naruko looked herself in her new full-length. Today the Uzumaki decided to wear her black jacket with orange fox head hoodie over a dark orange t-shirt, dark blue pants, and black ninja sandals. Her blonde hair was left down and held out of her eyes by her green mask goggles. To her surprise, using the goggles as fashion items hide her glasses much like her helmet and the armor under her clothing. Finally, the gamer put on her Slime King watch and was out towards her next destination.

This location, which the pair were now standing in front of, was the library. Today's mission was to get the needed material for Benihime to teach Naruko how to read and write. Last night the Navi and Hokage had theorized that between the shadow clones' ability to share information and the Gamer Mind's ability to learn and retain new information from books Naruko would have a much easier time learning these basic skills. However, they would first have to get into the library without getting immediately kick out.

"Maybe we just cut out losses and sneak in?" Naruko suggested.

Yet before either of the girls could reject or plan out the action the door opened. The person who walked out turned out to be the teacher for kunoichi specific skills, Suzume. The curly raven-haired stopped upon seeing Naruko and blinked behind her glasses. The chunin then turned around to see through the glass door into the library before turning back to Naruko with a smile/smirk.

"Guess I owe Umino-san a baker's dozen after all," Suzume said with some cheer in her brown eyes. Then she adjusted her glasses and asked, "Is there something you wish for Uzumaki-san? As one of your teachers, if you're looking for a particular class subject, I could provide help."

Naruko heard this and had to think of a response. On one hand, Suzume-sensei was one of the few people that didn't hate her. Sure, the chunin teacher was someone who likes to follow rules had more than once clashed with the troublemaking student but the woman was always fair in class. Heck, that woman had even taken the time to help Naruko understand the intricacies of skills like flower arranging, applying make-up and how to pass off as a normal civilian female. On the other hand, the Uzumaki didn't know if she could trust the woman with the knowledge of her shortcomings.

"I think you can trust her," Benihime said through their communicator. "I can't sense any hostility towards you from her. Plus, as she said, it's her job as a teacher to help students looking to learn."

Naruko heard this, thought about and sighed in acceptance. Then, she looked around, saw some people walking by and asked the woman to crouch. Suzume raised an eyebrow but figured the child must have been embarrassed so she complied. Naruko then cupped her hands around the woman's ear and whispered.

"I don't know how to read or write so I came here to learn."

Whatever Suzume had been expecting was not this and at first, she thought this was another prank. However, when she turned to see the honesty in the girl's cerulean eyes she frowned. Many questioned flooded the chunin's mind at this revelation. Thankfully she managed to join the majority of them into two.

"How is that possible? How could you have reached your age and grade without knowing how to do this?" At the question, the whiskered blonde shrugged in with a weary smile.

"No one ever bothered to teach me," Naruko answered and added, "And by the time Iruka-sensei was my teacher I just kind of learn to copy or imitate what everyone else was doing. Most of the time it came out as unreadable or that I answered in the wrong place by accident. In the end, I managed to fake it as someone with horrible penmanship and no sense of organization."

"And the reason you did well in my class is that I didn't use written tests," Suzume added with a frown. She had known that a lot of the other teachers outright hated the small Uzumaki for the burden placed on her. Yet it was truly aggravating to know they would neglect the girl this much.

'_We're teachers! It's our job to help guide our students to be the best they can and survive the world outside the village walls, dammit!_' she thought with anger before sighing. Then she stood up and said, "Okay, Uzumaki-san. After what you have said I've taken into consideration giving you some tutoring. Therefore, let's go in, get you a library card since you probably don't have one and then pick up some entry-level books to show you the basics."

"Thank you, Suzume-sensei!" Naruko said and followed the chunin instructor into the library.

Their first stop was the counter where an elderly lady was writing in a book. Suzume introduced the elder librarian as Nonoko and asked her if she could make an ID card for Naruko. The elderly woman looked at the child with a critical eye behind her glasses for a moment before agreeing, much to the Uzumaki's surprise. Nonoko then opened a drawer and pulled out a blank ID card that had a seal in the middle. She handed the card to Naruko and asked if the girl had anything to draw blood.

"Excuse me?" a startle Naruko questioned and both adults chuckled.

"Don't worry dearie," the elderly librarian started "You just need to place a drop of blood on the seal. Then you have to feed the card with your chakra. After this seal with write in your name, age, card id number, and access level. The seal on the card also has a second function.

By infusing chakra in the back of the card, it will create a blue window with white letters that lets you see the list of books, scrolls, newspapers, magazines or manuscripts you have either read, completed, bought or borrowed. Normally civilians do not have access to any books or scrolls related to any type of jutsu. However, as you are an academy student, you'll be granted entrée to jutsu from F to D-rank.

Any books, scrolls, newspapers, magazines or manuscripts you wish to take out or buy for the library must be brought here to the counter. For borrowed items, you will be asked to provide your living address the first time or if you have to change the billing address and pay 15 copper. Normally loaning periods are one week and should the item not be returned in the allowed day late fees will be 1 copper per night."

After the instructions and Naruko completed making her card Suzume asked in they could borrow one of the tutoring rooms. Nonoko nodded and gave a numbered key to the teacher who accepted them with gratitude. Next, the student and instructor were in the child's section collecting the needed studying material. Once that was done the pair entered their assigned room which Suzume was quick in preparing for the lesson. The chunin was about to start when she heard a popping sound and turned to see the room filled with white smoke.

The poor woman nearly had a heart attack when she saw five Uzumaki Naruko's sitting on their chairs around the grey table. The student seemed to notice her distress and gave an embarrassed grin.

"Sorry for the surprise. After the Hokage told me about the Kyubi sealed in me and learned about my learning problems he said it would be for the best that I learned the **Shadow Clone Jutsu**. He explained how their memory-sharing works with the caster and how I could carefully use it to improve my studying. The real trick is to dispel the most advanced one so everyone else gets to the level, replace the clone and repeat the cycle. It also helps a ton if you get a clone to make others. That way backlash from lots of memory is reduced considerably."

"H-H-He taught you the Shadow- Wait, you know about the seal?!"

"Somethings happened and he had no choice but to tell me," Naruko said with a shrug. Then she added"Thanks for being one of the few people that don't judge me for it, Suzume-sensei."

"I see," Suzume said flatly and soon clear her throat. Thus, for the following hour and a half, Naruko and her clones were tutored on the basics of how to read and write.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Outside of the library]

"Thank you again for the tutoring lesson, Suzume-sensei," Naruko said with a respectfully bow. The chunin smiled at the action and adjusted her glasses.

"You're welcome, Uzumaki-san. Now you just have to have to practice but don't be afraid of asking Umino-san or I help if needed. The academy does have a tutoring program for students and both of us tend to work on the program regularly. Still, I never thought I get to see someone used shadow clones the way you did."

"It's thanks to my abnormally dense chakra and fast healing factor but thank you anyway. Also, I'll send a couple of clones to practice back home and you'll likely see me on those tutoring classes. I have a lot of catching up to do! Oh and before I forget. Sandaime-sama will probably be asking for the academy staff to meet with him soon due to some information that he has uncovered about the Headmaster. Given you'll help me did much I thought it would be appropriate to warn you before someone tries to stab you in that back. There are very few staff members I can see being trustworthy."

"I see. I guess my next stop for today has been decided then. Thank you Uzumaki-san."

With that instructor and student parted ways both feeling accomplished. One for seeing her student's improvement and the other for finally being able to do something people took for granted. Sure, Naruko's read slower than a snail and her writing still looked like chicken scratches but at least she could now understand the symbols on the page. That was worlds above what she could do last night and it was thanks to one person, a real teacher no less, taking their time to show her the right way.

"Here I thought teachers were just meant to torture us homework and math. Guess I was wrong," Naruko commented while walking to her next destination.

"Oh, that is still part of their job but yes most of the time real teachers just want to see their students improve," Benihime added while she noticed they had entered the merchant district. "Anything, in particular, you want to buy?"

"Not this time," the blonde said with a smile and looked around.

It took a while to find the location that Naruko was looking for since she was practicing her newfound ability to read by reading all posters or signs they came across. Still, she managed to find the store with a sign with a kunai going through a gold coin. Below written in lager black letter it read _Higurashi Weapons_. The chime at the door announced her presence to the person on the register who welcomed her. The cashier turned out to be her honorary sister Tenten Higurashi, aka Katana-nee and just the person she was looking for. The two quickly recognized each other and Naruko walked to the panda girl who was in the process of polishing a set of kunai.

"Considering the smell, I'm willing to bet you've being doing that since before we met," Naruko commented and Tenten laughed.

"Yep, mom and dad always wanted me to take over the business one day so they taught me early. Cleaning the cuties and darlings around the shop has become my go-to way of meditation at this point," the brunette told as she finished. "Now, are you here for business, pleasure or a new job?"

"A bit of all three actually," the Uzumaki responded without missing a beat, much to the genin's surprise. "See, recently I've come into some information about storage seals that ended up with me creating an entirely new one. However, Hokage-sama, who at the time was with me do to relate matters, forbid me from making more than seven. One for me and one for him. That left me with five that I would give to people I trusted. You, Kanata-nee, are one of those people."

"Okay?" Tenten responded with a questioned eyebrow. "Say I don't believe you, which is true given how we used to work, how would you prove to me that what you're saying is true?"

"See those three barrels full of discount weapons?" Naruko pointed to her right, the teen's left, to which the genin nodded.

After this, the Uzumaki walked over while summoning three shadow clones and took out her ninja pouch. At this point, the item was more for distraction as she could summon for her inventory at any point but she needed to make this illusion seemed real to "sell" the item to her friend.

"Okay, look carefully because this is what I want to give you." With that said she ordered the clones to lift the barrels one by one and put them inside her small pouch. Between the three copies, they easily lifted the heavy objects and inserted them into their new storage space. Once they were done, she turned to her sister who had her jaw on the floor.

"Wha… But… You… How?! That was more than 50 medium-sized objects! No matter how many people have tried they had never been able to get a **Large Storage Seal** to work a container that small," Tenten said in disbelief of she was seeing.

Naruko laughed at this and said that this was why these pouches were special. She also made sure to explain why the Hokage had forbidden the mass production of these storage seals. While the female Higurashi was happy with it given the versatility, she wasn't willing to go against the leader's order. Plus, this still meant she would have an extremely rare item that people taught was only a dream.

"What the catch? Things like this always come with one," the twin hair-bun wearer asked with crossed arms and analytical chocolate eyes. The whiskered blonde smiled at this.

"Very true and its two actually," Naruko announced held up her hand. "First, I'll need a drop of your blood and a lock of hair. This way the pouch will only react to you. Second, when I finally tell you how I make these you must not tell anyone I don't deem trustworthy. Think of it as a trade secret."

"That's it?"

"Yep! Think of it as a family discount."

Tenten stared at her sister's blue eyes for any sign of deception but found none. Sure, her little Knives had always been hard to read behind that mask of smiles and grins of her. But, in the short amount of time the two played together as kids, the brunette had learned to read some of the girls tell and didn't find them. Thus, she chuckled and agree as this would mean she could carry even more surprises for her enemies.

The Weapon Mistress of Konoha was one step closer to becoming a legend!

"Okay, now that you have my hair and blood," Tenten said while putting her hair back into their twin buns. "Is there anything else you want? New kunai, shuriken, repair kits for your weapons and armor? Bet you would love a whetstone for the scythe of yours."

"What type of whetstone? I'm sure I can pay the bronze and silver ones but I don't know how expensive the gold ones are." Naruko had to raise an eyebrow at how the cashier burst into giggles at her question.

"Wow, Knives. That a good one!" the brunette laughed. Thankfully she calmed down quickly. "I was talking about our stone or ceramic whetstones. Considering you're a student I doubt you have the coin for a wheel but I'm sure you could afford one of our blocks. Heck, I can even throw in an instruction booklet for free since it would probably be the first time your using one."

"Oh, well which to do you suggest?" the whiskered student asked. Her weapons didn't need sharpening, cleaning or polishing but that didn't mean she didn't want to learn about this. Especially so when her concept of whetstones looked to be incompatible with reality. '_Who knows, maybe doing it the right way will get me something?_'

[+1 INT for thinking of creating the forbidden union between 2D & 3D!]

"I would suggest the ceramic one. Easier to use and makes those blades nice and sharp. Plus, they don't break as often as the natural stone ones." Tenten answered like a proper sells-woman.

"I'll take one of those then," Naruko said while trying to ignore the pop-up. Not noticing the blonde's annoyance, the brunette turned back to the shelf behind her. From there she opened a drawer and pulled out the desired items before ringing them. Without protest, the bill was paid by the student.

"Thank you for your purchase and please come again!" the genin said with a grin that infected her little sister. After which the blonde said her thanks and good-byes as she turned to leave. "Hey, wait a moment!" Tente cried out before harshly grabbed the girl's shoulder and turned her around. Naruko was about to complain when she was met with a fierce but annoyed glare. "Put the barrels back," the chocolate eye girl commanded while pointing at the empty stop.

Naruko, confused, turned to see her three shadow clones still standing there waiting for orders. The Uzumaki nervously sweated and chuckled embarrass since she had completely forgotten that.

"Whoops."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Hokage Mountain – Yondaime's Head]

While many would think eating lunch on top of one of the monuments of their leaders was disrespectful Naruko didn't care. Sitting here, where the whole village could be seen, always had a soothing sensation on her as if none of the hateful words or glares could reach her. Plus, now that she knew her element was wind, Naruko finally understood why feeling the free air was so calming and energizing.

"You know, Beni-chan? I think it's about time I start training for real. I've had this power for almost a week and I've barely done anything with it. I know I'm just starting but being so much weaker than everyone is just getting annoying."

"Well, your level 5 now, right? There should be a new option for a dungeon map raffle. The first pull is free but every other one you will need a gold key."

At this information, the Uzumaki blinked in surprise and opened her Game Shop. Sure enough, there was a new tab for the raffle and with instructions. As Benihime had explained, you did need a Golden Key but only if you wanted to ensure you would get a random epic-rarity level map. However, that didn't ensure it would be a map appropriate to the player's level. The shop also explained the random maps could be generated but money had to be provided.

* * *

**[Adventure Map Raffle!]**

150 bronze coins = 1 map of common or rare rarity level

300 silver coins = 3 maps of between common to legendary rarity level. Ensures that its at least super-rare or higher. [Can pay with Silver Keys]

500 gold coins = 5 maps of between common to epic rarity level. Ensures at least one is legendary or higher. (Can pay with Golden Keys)

* * *

"Dear Kami-sama! What is wrong with these prices?!" Naruko in distress, rage and disbelieve. Benihime just sighed and shook her head.

"It's a gacha mechanic. What did you expect? Those things are meant to drain you of all of your money and soul. Though I can't believe my creator would stoop so low as to add microtransactions into this."

"Microtransaction?! With 500 gold I could probably buy a house! There is _nothing_ remotely micro about that," screamed the Uzumaki with enough force to slightly push back the fairy.

"Then I guess you'll just have to use keys," the smaller redhead said while adjusting her hairband and hair. In response, Naruko glared at the raffle before you could see a lightbulb lit up over her head as a devious grin grew on her lips.

"A raffle is gambling, right? HA! My blessing from the Lady Luck means I win any gambling event. So that means I'll get all 5 dungeon maps as epic on my first free draw! No need to use this again," Naruko proclaimed with a satisfying laugh.

Not three seconds later their ears were assaulted with an ear-bleeding alarm.

**[WARNING!]**

[The adventure map raffle cannot be affected by Luck based abilities or third-party software. Should the player use illegal means like third-party software a punishment will be given.]

"Oh, I am really starting to hate that bastard," the Uzumaki growled at seeing the warning. At least this time the system didn't outright punish her like how it happened in the last dungeon. Hence, she took a quick calming breath and decided that she might as well use the raffle this one time. '_Who knows? Maybe beating one map will reward me with another and so on. I sure as hell will not play those stupid prices._'

With that in mind, Naruko clicked the free 5 maps pull that was gifted to her. The moment she did so a chest with a question mark appeared before her. The chest then shook violently before exploding and five folded maps appeared in front of her.

* * *

[Adventure Map –** Infested Sewer** {Required Lv 1-5} |Common| acquired!]

[Adventure Map – **Abandoned Village** {Required Lv 1-15} |Common| acquired!]

[Adventure Map – **Techno City** {Required Lv 25-30} |Legendary| acquired!]

[Adventure Map – **1000 Dune Dessert** {Required Lv 15-40} |Common| acquired!]

[Adventure Map – **Slime Island** {Required Lv 1-100} |Epic| acquired!]

[Due to the player owning five (5) or more adventure maps the player will be provided with an Adventuring Atlas |Special Item| book to store their map collection. **NOTE**: It is possible to find multiple versions of the same map. Should this happen the new version can be discarded or fuse with the previous one to rise its max level by five (5).]

* * *

"This is interesting," Naruko said as the book appeared on her hand. The book was of average size and a strong cardboard cover. To the blonde's surprise, the cover art was of herself and Benihime. In the art Naruko had her back to the reader while holding a backpack, her blonde hair flowing in the wind and Benihime floating beside her. They were on a hill overlooking a vast grand world ready to be explored.

The whiskered girl opened that book to see that only five pages had a map in them while every other page was empty. Wondering how the portals would work she touched one of them and a window appears asking if she wanted to enter.

"Wait," the fairy said. "I think it would be best if we go home and then enter the dungeon. The book is the doorway and who's to say leaving it here unattended wouldn't damage it. If the map is destroyed there is the very real possibility that we could never come back."

"Good idea."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(Adventure Map - **Slime Island**)

[Hunting ground access time remaining – 2hrs;59mins;59secs]

[**Special Condition:** Monsters in the area only turn hostile if attacked]

Once Naruko passed through the gate she noticed the salty air, the warm sun on her skin and the sand beneath her sandals. A particularly strong gust of wind passed her from behind and on instinct, she turned to its direction. As Naruko's blonde hair whip behind her, she could only gasp in wonder with wide eyes at the large, expansive and sparkling blue visage before her.

"This is your first time seeing the ocean, isn't it?" Benihime asked with a smile at seeing her mistress pure wonder.

"Yes," Naruko whispered. "I've never even been outside the village's walls. Will I be able to find more places like this?"

"The world is full of places like this and with your powers, you'll find some even greater. However, we shouldn't waste much time admiring the scenery or we'll run out the timer."

It was only then the Naruko finally noticed the countdown timer on her UI. Confused she asked her fairy/manual why one was present now. Benihime explained that were special dungeons or areas that could only be accessed during certain times or conditions. Depending on the locations a variety of monster types or families could be gathered to battle them during the allowed time. These also meant one could potentially find variations of the monsters that are levels above the player's current level. Hence, they should pursue with caution if the area turned the inhabitants aggressive.

"Okay, that's good to know. So, given the name of this place I'm guessing the monsters here are all slime types, right?"

As if to answer her question she noticed a couple of Seaslimes moving around in their shells around the beach, the jellyfish-like Man o' War and Healslime interlocking tentacles and out in the ocean waters she noticed a shark-like Aqua Slime jump and eat seagull the had been flying by. Then, due to the bouncing behind, she turned to look at a normal Slimes moving along the edge of the sand.

Seeing those cute smiling creatures just hanging out almost made her feel bad about pulling out her scythe. Still, she needed to get stronger and she only had a set amount of time to spend here. Hence, Naruko chose to start with the regular slimes as she doubted her level would be enough to handle the later versions. Thankfully as she went further inland, she started finding other variations like the orange Box Slimes and She-slimes, green Bubble Slimes and by pure accident she let tree slimes combined into a Slime-stacks.

The last one managed to surprise her when she scanned them and they possessed an attack power of 76 alongside a defense of 83. At first, she couldn't believe that the silly looking trio could be stronger than the abomination she fought yesterday. All doubt quickly after getting tackled into a tree and the tree visibly cracking from the impact. Thankfully she managed to dodge the following attack and, against the wishes of her pride, ran away as fast as she could. Slime-stack seemed to become content with her choice as it stayed to eat the apples that had fallen from the tree.

"Dammit!" Naruko cursed out as she panted once she was far enough from the monster fusion. "I should have asked _***pant***_ Hinata-chan and Ino-chan to help. _***pant***_ I bet with a team I could-" She couldn't facepalm herself harder as her brain caught up with her mouth. Then she quickly crossed her fingers while molding her chakra, "**Shadow Clone Jutsu**!"

As the smoked cleared Naruko could see ten copies of herself waiting for orders. However, this time she noticed new information being displayed. A new player had entered the field.

**(Guest)** Shadow Clone Army [Lv1]

XP: 0/99

Hp: 10/10

MP: 750

[Do you want to read the **Shadow Clone Army** tutorial?]

[YES/NO]

"I can't believe you forgot your clones," Benihime deadpanned which made her mistress blush in shame. "Since you've been using them all morning for a task like cleaning, cooking and studying I thought you weren't using them because you wanted a challenge."

"No, I was clearly not using them because my wisdom stat is in the negatives," the Uzumaki reprimanded herself for dropping the ball like that. "Now let's see what this tutorial is about," she added while confirming the need for more information.

* * *

[Shadow Clone Army tutorial]

[As your sensei, Hiruzen Sarutobi, explained while teaching you the **Shadow Clone Jutsu**, this technique uses a vast amount of chakra from the user. However, due to your chakra mixing with mana the potency has increased dramatically which in turn lowers the MP requirements of any jutsu. This lets you summon multiple clones at a time.

It is thanks to this fact that a new combat skill was created. The **Shadow Clone Army** skill makes it so that the clones all share one mana pool. The Mp is the combination of what was used to create them. Should the army's HP (the number of clones) be whipped out and it still has MP remain that amount can be utilized to revive the allowed number of clones.

The **Shadow Clone Army** skill also allows the clones to level up through experience gain in battle like the player. Only ATK, AGI, INT and PER stats will grow through level up. Also, when summoned the clones' level will be determined by the level of this skill.

**NOTE:** each clone only possesses 1HP and 0DEF hence they will die from any attack that lands. There exists a method to increase DEF for clones but the player has to find what it is for themselves.]

* * *

"Now, _this_ is interesting! Let's go kick the Slime-stack's ass ladies!" Naruko called out. In union, all of the clones cried and were about to charge when a powerful whistle got everyone's attention. Then turned to see a slightly irritated Benihime.

"I'm happy that you're playing on using this new skill to overwhelm your opponent but I think for now it would be best if you didn't. If you scan them, you'll realize that all of your clones have the same strength you had at Lv1 without the bonus attributes from equipment, skills or anything."

Doing as suggested Naruko scanned the clones. Sure enough, every single clone had there had their stats at 1. It would have been a massacre against her if they had gone to fight that monster. Then she looked at the timer and notice at least 30 minutes have passed and she still hadn't to level up which was the whole reason she had entered this map. With the mission back to the forefront Naruko decides to keep farming the lower tier slimes.

After this, the army of Uzumaki's proceeded to hunt down the creatures. Everything was going fine and the army had managed to level up at least once. That is until a clone had missed her throw and hit one of the King Slimes. The attack easily bounced off the gelatinous body of the high-level slime but it was enough for it to become hostile. Naruko was quick to cut her losses and threw all her remaining clones at it as she dashed away.

Poor clones didn't last more than two seconds.

Thankfully she managed to get enough distance that the creature didn't give chase. However, due to turning her head back to look back Naruko was unable to look at the small hill she was going to run over. Benihime did and tried to warn Naruko but the blonde couldn't stop herself from tripping. This caused her to rolled down the small hill but thankfully the damage was minimal as she reached the end. Yet as the Uzumaki got up, she felt an incredible amount of pressure on top of her.

While the presence didn't show any malice the amount of power it was radiating by just standing over her was mind-blowing. The Uzumaki's mind was quickly calmed down by her bloodline limit but she still had to force herself to gulp before looking up. There she found a humanoid figure about Kakashi's height staring down at her wearing blue armor that made them look like a super sentai. However, the armored figure also had a slight tattered red scarf wrapped around its neck and a golden slime emblem on its waist and knees. Even scanning it all she could get was its name: Ultra Slime.

"What are you doing here human?" the Ultra Slime asked calmly much to her surprise. She could also see he kept the red slime drill on his right arm at the ready. "Do not lie."

"I'm hunting monsters," Naruko answered towards the creature's visor. Time seemed to stand still as she felt the humanoid slime judging if she was worth his time. '_Dammit, I knew the level is this place went up to 90 but this is insane! It's like I'm being stared down by Jiji._'

The monster kept staring down at her and she could feel the nervous sweat building on her brow. Still, if the Uzumaki was going to die here she was going to make sure the creature saw the last defying spark in her eyes. The Ultra Slime's eyes seem to notice this before he laughed and offered her a hand.

"I like that fire in your eyes child! Here let me help you," he said good-naturedly. Cautiously Naruko took the hand and was easily lifted to her feet. Then the humanoid slime softly dusted her off. "Not many of your kind have that force of will when faced with someone as strong as I."

"I'm surprised you aren't trying to kill me like most of the monsters that I interact with," Naruko commented and the Ultra Slime gave boisterous laugh.

"There are many reasons shōjo: you're too weak to bother, you haven't attacked me, you aren't my nemesis and this island has a very nice clamming effect!"

"The first one seemed kind of insulting," the Uzumaki noted with some displeasure. Next thing Naruko knew the hill behind her exploded with enough force to pull the fox hood over her head and whip her hair. Blue eyes turned to see a drill encased arm coiling back from beside her head. A few more degrees of movement then showed a hole twice her size and without apparent end carved into the hill.

"Could you see me move?" the Ultra Slime asked calmly while staring down at the child. Even as her mind remained calm Naruko couldn't help by gulp nervously as she shook her head negatively. The super sentai chuckled good heartily and patted the gamer's golden head, "Then that is the reason why you wouldn't be a proper challenge for me. Now shōjo-"

"My name is Naruko Uzumaki," the girl's mouth corrected before she could stop herself. Thankfully she could feel the warrior's satisfied grin.

"Now Uzumaki-shōjo," the Ultra Slime started again while looking from something in his belt. "I must be my way to fight my rival Nemeslime! But since your potential has stroked my curiosity, I will give you these to help on your journey!"

[You've acquired the Squishy-Gooey Goodies recipe!]

[You've acquired Goometal x10!]

[You've acquired Challenge Coin – Ultra Slime (Lv90)]

"Thank you?" Naruko said confused at the thought of a monster just handing her equipment recipes and some of the corresponding materials. After this, the Ultra Slime was about to leave them the whiskered girl noticed the final item. "Hey, wait! Why did you give me all of this? We just met."

"Because when I woke up on this island, I heard a voice that said to find a human child and give her those items," he answered. "However, your fire shows that one day you could rise to be a true challenge. Hence, I see no reason why I shouldn't give you a coin to summon me so we can fight. Plus, should you defeat me I would gladly fight alongside you!"

"Can I give this challenge to another?"

"Come again?" Seeing and hearing to utter confusion on the creature Naruko repeated her question. The armor being blinked still confused, "Well yes. It is possible to bestow upon another the honor to fight me. But why would you pass a chance of fighting and possibly earning one such as I?"

The Uzumaki looked the red coin over in her possession. On one side was the engraved image of the Ultra Slime and on the other was an engraving of two swords clashing. Naruko closed her fist around the coin and smirk before looking at the humanoid slime.

"My world is divided into five-nation with the military of each controlled by the strongest man in the village. The man I know as a grandfather is one such man and by many considered the strongest of these five individuals. This is the person I wish to bestow the honor of fighting you. Would this be acceptable Ultra Slime-sama?"

The creature heard this declaration backed by the girl's unyielding conviction and felt his entire body shake with pure excitement at the promise of a real challenge. While he had long since grown out of the desire to kill and devour like most of its mindless brethren, he was still a monster. Battle was in his soul and this new opponent seems like it would be a good one. Hence the creature laughed in anticipation as he turned to leave but not before saying…

"Fine! Give it to your leader. Our battle shall be glorious!" With that final declaration, the super sentai slime walked towards the tree line and vanished in a burst of speed.

"It would be awesome to training under that guy if Jiji beats him. Don't you think Beni-chan?" Naruko asked and waited. Silence. "Beni?" she questioned again and looked but of her shoulders to find nothing. "BENIHIME?!"

"I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!" a voice called out from her shirt. Looking down she found Benihime's head popping out of the space between her boobs. "Thank the lord for the valley between the mounds," the fairy said with a sigh.

"What are you doing in my chest?" the now blushing girl asked. The fairy floated out of the shit and sighed.

"That explosive force of his punch nearly sent me flying but I managed to hold on to a few locks of your hair. After that, I climbed inside of your clothes to hide since, unlike you, I do feel fear. And let me tell you that power of his was unreal," Benihime answered while trying to fix her hair. Then she turned to face her friend, "By the way, what can you make with the recipes he gave you?"

"Let's see," Naruko started while she opened her recipe book. "It seems like I can make all kinds of slime related equipment and items. Weapons, armor or items, you name it and it's here. Wow! I can make Metal, Liquid Metal, and Metal King Slime gear?! Ow, dang it, I need mithril to even start the chain and orichalcum for the other two."

"Still the normal slime weapons seem way better than your current gear," Benihime noted as she looked at the required materials. "You already have enough Goometal to make at least two weapons."

"And to make more I would just need is to fuse a chunk of iron ore with five slime drops," the Uzumaki finished with a thoughtful expression. Soon it turned into a smirk. "Well, I have yet to find any iron ore but I can certainly get the slime drops here."

After saying this she summoned ten more shadow clones and ordered them to hunt down as many normal slimes as they could. The clones saluted before spreading into different directions and Naruko drank a mana potion to replenish her exhausted MP. She had bought a bunch yesterday when the Hokage was teaching her the **Shadow Clone Jutsu**. Soon the +1XP windows started popping up as her clones went about their farming.

"Okay, while girls are working, what should I do? Let's the timer says I still have… Damn, less than 30 minutes left? I need to level up-"

* * *

[Naruko Uzumaki has leveled up!]

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv6] ~Trickster Queen~

Job: Novice

XP: 000 / 624

HP: 140 + 17 = 157

MP: 1,583 + 76 = 1,659

ATK: 017 + 1 = 018

DEF: 048 + 1 = 049

AGI: 015 + 1 = 016

VIT: 011 + 1 = 012

INT: 025 + 1 = 026

SPR: 275 + 6 = 281

PER: 011 + 1 = 012

Attribute Points: 0010 + 10 = 20

[You've learned **Squelch**!]

Healing skill: **Squelch**

MP Cost: 10

Cooldown: 30secs

**Description** – A technique many adventures learn so they can survive out in the wilderness. Cures {**Poison**} status on one target.

[Shadow Clone Army has leveled up!]

Shadow Clone Army [Lv3]

XP: 000 / 263

ATK: 002 + 1 = 003

AGI: 002 + 1 = 003

INT: 002 + 1 = 003

PER: 002 + 1 = 003

* * *

"Never mind then," the jinchuriki spoke with a chuckle. "Still I should get in more XP around here. But where?" As the girl questioned this, she used her scanning ability. '_There!_' she thought as a bush moved and a sliver colored slime bounced out happily. "No way," Naruko thought as she looked at the new monsters. "_~No way~,_" she repeated as an extremely hungry grin formed on her lips.

As if feeling the gaze of a predator on it the small Metal Slime turned slowly. Once its eyes meet the nearly salivating child staring down at it the creature shivered. Then in a blink of an eye the blade of a scythe slash at its face. It bounces harmlessly off its skin with _tink_ sound.

Naruko saw this and tried again with the same result. For the third strike the little metal finally managed to regain its nerve as it squished itself to avoid the swing. Then it bounced back while casting a low powered fire spell at its hunter. Said hunter yelped before jumping out of the way.

Already fearing the rare creature would run away from this, Naruko called out ten shadow clones. Then she threw them at the elusive monster. Regretfully their attack proved to be just as effective as hers. Not only that but the slime had managed to destroy enough of the clones to make its escape.

"Oh no, you don't!" Naruko screamed as she saw the slime almost vanish in a burst of speed. Thinking quickly, she orders a shadow clone to transform into a solid black stallion that she mounted. Even before the smoke of the jutsu dissipated the horse rider was chasseing its target.

Still, her agile beast couldn't keep up with the small creature's speed. Hence, she quickly poured chakra into the horse and force **Dash** to activate around the transformed clone. The tick almost worked too well as the horse speed doubled and if not for the grip, she had on its hair Naruko would have been blown off. Still, there was something to be said about the thrill of seeing your ride leave a giant dust trail as it trotted at max speed. The rider then forced herself back into a sitting position with great effort. Once that was done Naruko looked to the front and to her surprise the Metal Slime was still bouncing a few steps in front of her.

"Holy hell! I think this thing be faster than Lee-kun without his weights," Naruko exclaimed in bewilderment.

"Just by a bit! Both him and this slime are just above a 100 in agility," Benihime yelled from inside the Uzumaki's jacket.

"Well that's not going to stop me," the whiskered girl declared once more summoned her scythe. Then she forced the shadow clone horse to go faster. Once she was on top of the slime, she took another swing.

_**SLASH!**_

-1HP

"YES!" The girl had yelled before jerking the horse to the left to avoid smashing into a tree. Then the horse and rider had to do a U-turn to give chase again as the smile bolted right. "Get back here!"

The frustrated yelled only seemed to fuel the slime's survival instincts as it started bouncing farther distances. Quickly, after drinking a couple more mana potions, Naruko doubled up on the power of the dashing ability. In seconds she found herself galloping right beside the slime. The race was on as both parties move through the small collection of trees. Any burst of fire was either dodged or blocked by a tree. Scythe slashes or throws were also dodged or blocked by either a gelatinous steel body or trees. Neither prey or predator gave an inch in their deadly race.

That is until a new cliff overseeing the beach appeared.

Only Benihime managed to notice the incoming drop off. Yet by the time, she could form words both parties leaped over the edge.

"We're going to die," a now hysterical Benihime as she saw multiple jagged stones waiting for me at the bottom of the 50ft drop.

"Not if I have anything to do about it," Naruko declared and leaped off of the horse as it dispelled in an explosion.

The small redhead screamed while holding for dear life to the blonde. The jinchuriki, however, utilize the force of the detonation to reach her flying target. Regretfully this also put her in the path of a small fireball which exploded upon impact with her chest. The fire hurt like nothing Naruko had ever experienced but she was not detoured! No, in fact, as it fueled the Uzumaki with ditermination as she did a dash jump right into the surprised slime. The flying tackle did not damage the gelatinous creature but it wasn't meant to.

"If I can't hurt you normally let get gravity to help out!" After this proclamation, she summoned three more shadow clones that held onto her back. Then in sync, they yelled "**Transformation Jutsu**!"

Next thing the Metal Slime knew the human hunting it transformed into a gigantic spike ball. Not a single area of the sphere's surface was left without a spike covering it. The small slime cried out in distress as it felt an impossible amount of sharp points dig into its membrane.

Then they two crashed onto the ground. Force the second time in its life the slime's metal skin was beating.

-1HP

[Metal Slime is **stunned**!]

As that message appeared Naruko's transformation and clones became undone from the force of the impact. Somehow between the chakra shell created by the transformation and her clones, the force of the crash landing had been nullified for her. That, however, had not saved the blonde from the disorienting feeling of having turned into an object with no sign of life, sense or ability to breathe and second regaining everything. The surreal experience of becoming nothingness last less than a couple of seconds. Yet to her mind it had been like an eternity and a half before regained its sense of self. Thus, it took Naruko sometime to realize she was laying on her back and her enemy was wide open.

"Hey!" Benihime exclaimed as she floated over her friend. "You have to get up or the slime will get away again!"

"Huh?" Naruko asked while drooling. Something was over her but for the life of her, the blonde couldn't tell what it was. "Shoary blobby. Ish can shmell eh squared, shee spiky and tasty periwinkle. Tangy."

"Why are you high? Oh, forget it," the fairy said as she pulled out of it girl to her feet. Then she forced the Uzumaki's scythe to appear on the girl's hands. "Come on! Finish it off," she exclaimed while pushing the girl towards the stunned slime.

Naruko felt herself being lifted as something was put in her hands and soon pushed forward. Still not having a sense to use her feet she almost fell flat on her face. Thankfully the weapon on hand got caught on some rocks and served to stabilize her footing. This, however, didn't stop her stomach from lurching and almost immediately emptying itself by way of her mouth.

"Ow, I feel sick," Naruko moaned in pain. Her entire body just felt _wrong_ like it wasn't hers. Or maybe it was? Then she looked forward with some difficulty. "Oh right… the Metal Slime," she said after noting the stunned monster. The jinchuriki forced herself to stand as straight as possible. Then she lifted her scythe with the little balance she possessed and fueled the blade with chakra.

'_Please let this hit,_' she begged to the heavens. Unknown to the Uzumaki her scythe's blade became engulfed in dark energy. As she aimed the blade became twice its size and slowly started producing a dark purple mist. Then she launched a swing with every last bit of her strength even if it meant her entire body would sail along with the swing.

As the dark blade cut a path through the air it made a sound similar to the water crashing onto rocks. The movement of the blade also created a black rift in the area where the Metal Slime was. The black crescent moon ate way the light, tore apart space and seem to rot away time. Then as if the tear's very existence contradicted itself it imploded on itself with a muffled popping. In its wake, the silhouette of the slime remained before the monster convulsed and die with a silent scream.

* * *

**[Congratulations! You've won!]**

[You've gained 2010XP]

[Loot: Molten globules |super-rare| x01, and 20cc]

[You've leveled up!]

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv8] ~Trickster Queen~

Job: Novice

XP: 627 / 880

HP: 157 + 42 = 199

MP: 1,659 + 151 = 1,810

ATK: 018 + 2 = 20

DEF: 049 + 2 = 051

AGI: 016 + 2 = 018

VIT: 012 + 2 = 014

INT: 025 + 2 + 027

SPR: 281 + 12 = 293

PER: 012 + 2 = 14

Attribute Points: 0020 + 20 = 0040

[You've learned **Death's Scythe**!]

**Death's Scythe** \- you've once felt what true nothingness is. Now you have called upon the encompassing oblivion to reside in the weapon chosen by Death itself.

Very low chance of hitting.

Instant {**Death}** if the attack manages to lands.

[You've learned **Killing Intent**!]

**Killing Intent** \- a technique designed and refined by warriors since ancient times. Using a wave of chakra, the user can turn their will into an actual force that can press down on one or multiple targets.

Inflicts **Fear** on target of lower-level or without this skill

Cause death hallucinations if the target is 10 levels lower

Applying more chakra increases the pressure on the target

Skill can be used to counteract or resist an opponent's KI

[You've earned the title Slime Cleaner!]

Slime Cleaner \- a title given to those who have hunted a multitude of slimes.

Slime kills for next level = 250

+10% damage to slime family

* * *

Seeing the screen showing that she just managed to level up twice and feeling the adrenaline of gaining new strength and learning new skills made Naruko laugh in elation. Not only had she managed to kill one of the most elusive monsters in RPGs but she got to experience the thrill of chasing and hunting it!

"That was incredible," Naruko exclaimed with a laugh as all sickness left her. "I felt like I was in an action movie! I didn't even think I could transform me clones like that. I just did it and pretty much winged it. Though turning into an inanimate object was surreal."

"I am more surprised by the fact that you _could_ chase a Metal Slime," Benihime said with a proud smile. "In any games, they appear once they flee battle that's it. Guess being able to do so was thanks to mixing videogame world with the real one."

"Seems like it," the blonde noted while taking a look at her surroundings. They had reached another beach on the island though this one was mostly made of multiple rocks with the ones near the water had become sooth from exposure. Then she looked at the timer and notice she had at best ten minutes left.

"When the counter is finished, we're booted out, right?"

"Yes, after which we the map would lock for an amount of time before it can be entered again. Seeing how little time we have I'm guessing you wish to rest, correct?"

"Sure. Plus, I do need to distribute those 40AP I have now." With that, the girl opened her status screen and planned out her growth. From the hints that were given by both the vision and Benihime the Uzumaki had determined her job class was magically inclined. Hence, she needs to keep putting points into her INT.

'_Still, that job class was really good using the scythe. That could mean it's a class that also uses strength so I need to feed my ATK. However, I also need more HP and speed to survive. Hmm... Okay, let's see how this setup looks?_"

+50 HP = 259 HP

+10 ATK = 30 ATK

+7 AGI = 25 AGI

+17 VIT = 31 VIT

+5 INT = 33 INT

+1 PER = 15 PER

"You went for almost everything?"

"Had the points so might as well," Naruko answered with a shrug. Then she asked "What do you think I should do? There is not enough time to hunt down another Metal Slime."

"Why not meditate? That's the one skill you have yet to use. Maybe now that we only have the sound of the ocean around us it could help you concentrate."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Hyuga Clan Compound]

(Morning)

Hinata was in her clan's training hall going through the katas of her new fighting style.

Yesterday's experience in the dungeon, especially the fight with the boss, had been somewhat of an eye-opener. Sure, she had gotten a new set of abilities but she still didn't understand them well enough to be effective. Therefore, after walking up, the first thing she did was practice her Byakugan's new vision on her body. Just like with her two friends she could see her muscles, veins, and bones by adjusting the dial. However, another use for this showed itself when her eye managed to penetrate through the seals around her room.

This should not have been possible due to the seals being specifically made to block the x-ray vision of their eyes so that the residents could go about their lives without fear of prying eyes. Yet her eyes seem to be a contradiction as by lowering their power they somehow overcome the seals? Hinata couldn't understand it but it was clear that she was seeing the blue flames of her family members' chakra.

'_Maybe it's not that my chakra usage is lower but that it becomes concentrated into a finer point?_' Hinata thought to herself before deactivating her bloodline limit. After which got up and dressing in her training gi so she could get some early practice before breakfast.

This was where she found herself now. To her surprise, Neji-niisan wasn't in the hall today but out in the yard which was a blessing for her. Hinata knew the boy hated her and a part of her couldn't truly blame him for it. Sure, she had been much too young to fight an experienced jonin but the boy's father was killed at the end of the event.

'_Doesn't mean he has to be such a jerk about,_' a new more accretive side of her spoke up. '_Seems like a side effect of awakening thanks to Naru-kun. Hehe, it's incredible how much stronger I've become from just being around her. __***sigh***__ If only I had the courage to befriend her before this could have happened earlier. Still, now I have a chance to be a real friend to her. __***blush* **__M-M-Maybe even something m-m-more. __***sigh***__ Though first I have to learn how to stop myself from becoming a blushing mess around her._'

Unbeknownst to the Valkyrie, she was being watched by two pairs of eyes. One set belongs to her little sister Hanabi who was trying hard not to let her jaw hit the floor. Hanabi knew her sister should be stronger by age, height, and weight alone as well as recently noticing that Hinata seem to purposely mess up her attacks during spars. Yet that didn't prepare her for the sight of her older sister practicing her new skills. The amount of grace, speed, power, and shear control the older sibling was showing as she practically danced or almost glided throughout the training hall left Hanabi in pure awe. The second pair of eyes, belonging to the Clan Head and their father Hiashi Hyuga. The father's gaze was more analytical as he remains in perfect control of the stoic visage of a clan leader.

Hiashi didn't let anyone see a reaction as he saw his oldest move about with a great deal more prowess than she had shown in years. He didn't even show distaste at seeing that the girl was ignoring the Gentle Fist's more rigid style for a modified version that relied on the girl's natural flexibility. No, he kept silent and observed his oldest display a level of skill she had never shown before. True, he could see many openings that could be exploited, mistakes in some movements and signs of some unfamiliar with stances but Hiashi couldn't deny this was working for Hinata. He could already tell that for someone with less skill than him this modified version of the Gentle Fist could difficult to deal with. This especially so for other practitioners of the original style as they would not expect their opponent to be that mobile.

Then Hinata finally stopped to breath and turned around.

"Oh! Otou-sama. Hanabi-chan. Good morning," Hinata bowed respectfully upon seeing the two. "How are you doing today? If it's time for breakfast, I'll be there shortly. I just need to finish my morning training."

"Did you not just finished?" Hiashi asked calmly. However, the very slight increase in the height of his eyebrow spoke volumes. '_Since when does she talk without her stutter? And she also managed to speak will looking me straight in the eyes?_'

Hinata, seemingly ignoring or perhaps not care her newfound bravery could be seen as strange, smiled and walked towards her family members. Then the bluenette grabbed her naginata she had left resting against the wall next to the entrance.

"I just finished my hand to hand combat training. Now I must continue with weapons training," Hinata answered calmly while walking back to the middle of the training hall.

"B-But we don't use weapons," Hanabi managed to announce with a small stutter. She wasn't scared of her sister but Hanabi couldn't deny that Hinata somehow stokes an imposing figure with the long weapon.

"True," Hinata answer while taking a neutral stance. "Yet yesterday's training showed me how foolish it was to fight an opponent with access to a multitude of weapons without at least having one yourself."

"If you had any skills you wouldn't need a weapon," the scathing voice of her cousin Neji was heard from the entrance to the backyard. Up to this point he had been there doing her morning exercise silently. Hinata had heard what he said and frowned mid-thrust before a small smirk on her lips appeared. Everyone in the area had to do a double-take at seeing the normally shy girl's face gain such expression.

"Says the man that has not once won against Tenten when she uses her weapons." She knew just how out of character had commented was. Hinata knew that if it wasn't for her Byakugan being seen activating and deactivated they would have assumed she was an imposter. '_Heck, even with that they probably think I finally snapped under the pressure._'

"Hinata Hyuga," Hiashi called out with enough authority even Neji, how was glaring death at Hinata, couldn't suppress a brief flinch. "Care to explain this change in attitude?"

While Hinata still had the new boost in courage from her ascension she couldn't stop her body from jumping in fright. She had heard that reprimanding tone so many times it almost impossible to stop her body from doing its conditioned response. However, before the bluenette could turn back into the shy and meek girl everyone in the room thought she was Hinata caught her reflection on the naginata's blade. For a brief moment, Hinata's frighten face became that on a fierce warrior clad in her armor and ready for battle.

'_Calm yourself Hinata,_' she thought to herself as she took a breath. '_You chose to change and you knew that would be difficult. You already went up the first step and now this will be the next. Just say why you want to change._'

After assuring herself again Hinata took another breath while tightening the grasp around her weapon like a security blanket.

"I don't care," was the first thing that came out of Hinata's mouth. She was still looking down at her weapon as memories of her spar with Naruko replayed in her mind. "I… I simply don't care anymore. I see no reason to do so," she announced with a small smile. "Yesterday, as I lay on the ground beaten, humiliated and hurting I came to a realization. If this had been a real battle, I would have died and that only two people that would have cared about my death would have been Hanabi-chan and Kurenai-sensei."

Upon saying this the bluenette did lift her head and looked eyes her sister. No words were exchange but Hanabi's small nod and the slightly worried look was enough confirmation for Hinata. The oldest sister then turned and locked eyes with her father's stern visage. Doing so almost caused the eldest daughter her resolve but Hinata had promised to be there for Naruko.

'_If I back down now. If I give up _now_. I'll never be able to face her or walk the same path as her. If I don't step forward now I will always be looking at her back,_' Hinata told herself as she squashed whatever amount of fear that was trying to take hold of her. "It because of that realization that I simply stopped caring about my position as a Hyuga. Both you and the Council had already deemed me a failure and in some cases a mistake. Now I ask: why should I care about what people, who long since abandoned me, think of me?"

At the end of the question, Hiashi thought his daughter was truly expecting an answer. However, whatever he could have said would forever be unknown as Hinata continued as years of frustration finally boiled over to the surface.

"That final loss yesterday was all the answer I needed. I shouldn't care. I shouldn't because out there on the battlefield the only people I can trust will be my teammates and myself, not this clan that sees the second born as expendable," Hinata said and emphasized with a frown directed at her father. She knew that was an extremely low blow to the man and would also hurt her cousin but Hinata wanted them to know how mad she was.

"I cannot place my faith and life on a clan that regularly forces me to fight my little sister and then berates me for not wanting to hurt her." After saying this for the first time Hinata glared at her father. "And you know what disgusts me that most about that? It's the fact that I promised my mother, on her deathbed no less, that I would protect Hanabi-chan while you, Hyuga-sama, was there holding my shoulder. Then the moment my little sister was old enough to practice our clan's taijutsu I was forced to fight her."

At this point, Hinata's anger had found its foothold and vanquished her fear. Now she was out for blood, "You all knew how much I cared for my baby sister yet you wanted me to fight her. You wanted no _demanded_ that I fought someone younger and weaker than me into submission. You practically ordered me to establish the supposed dominance of the all-powerful first branch on a small girl who had just barely learned to walk without falling every other step.

Hyuga-sama, you knew full well I would hate to do something like that. That such an act would be akin to spitting on Oka-sama's grave to me. Yet time and again I was forced to fight my little sister and out of sheer desperation, I held back. I held back because I knew that the moment Hanabi-chan lost to me you and the "illustrious" Elder Council wouldn't bat an eye before sending her to be branded with godforsaken slave seal.

All of this under the pathetic pretext of protecting our clan's bloodline limit. Worst of all is that I'm sure you, Hyuga-sama, believe is that horrible lie even if doing so would be an insult to Oka-sama. Heh, truth be told there had been nights where I would go to bed after another humiliation and wonder: Does he even love us? Are we just tools or trophies for him to display? And the best one: Did you ever love our mother?"

"That is enough, young lady!" Hiashi finally called out. His voice had barely risen for its normal stern tone but the slight shaking on his fists and clear glare were enough indications of his rage. "I suggest you're careful with your next words or-"

"Or what? You'll brand me with the **Caged Bird Seal** and exile me to the farthest branch house so you can forget I ever existed? Please, everyone in this room and everybody else listening in knows that you and Council were just going to do exactly that the moment I graduate the academy because you couldn't risk the chance of weak and pathetic excuse of a Hyuga like myself walking around outside the village walls. I was probably destined to die against the first bandit group I encountered and it wouldn't be good for our secrets if they pulled out my unsealed eyes from my corpse after all."

After that accusation, Hinata could hear the barely repressed gasps from Hanabi, Neji and from a few of the hidden clan members that had stopped to witness this confrontation. But at this point, Hinata didn't care as she knew as the elders and clan leader already decided her fate and position the moment she couldn't strike down her little sister. Thus, the former Hyuga heiress went to finish this show so she could leave.

"This clan already considers me a failure and I will accept it with pride. Brand my like all the others you deemed to be beneath you. But just like this clan has cast me aside I will abandon my faith in it and its delusions of grandeur. From now on I will keep training myself to improve on my expectations and not on the ones of a clan that already agreed that training me to survive is a waste of time.

From this moment forward I'll only believe in my future teammates and my power to survive this world. Therefore, I will cast aside delusional notions such as our Gentle Fist being the strongest taijutsu in existence. I will cast aside the falsehood of not needing a weapon other than my hands to win. In turn, I will become the strongest kunoichi I can be using my Byakugan and Juken in conjunction with ninjutsu, bukijutsu, and genjutsu I can learn to use effectively."

After that declaration, Hinata turned on her heel and started walking away towards the backyard entrance. This way she wouldn't have to bother the Hyuga Clan head to move so she could be gone from his sight.

"Now if you'll excuse me. I will finish my training elsewhere and buy my food for the day. Do not wait for me. I doubt I will return before dinner time is over."

With that, the once weak and meek Hinata Hyuga jumped to the roof and disappeared for the rest of the day.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Yamanaka Clan Compound]

(9:30AM)

"I'm going to decked that baka in the face when I see her," Ino moaned as she laid her head on the dinner table. To the blonde's left her mother Noriko chuckled.

"I thought you wanted to make peace with her?"

"That was before my brain started exploding in my skull," the young Yamanaka growled while lifting her head to rest on her chin. Then she glared at the instruments of torture used against her; a quill pen, a bottle of ink and a sheet of paper. "This is impossible! It's like-"

"Like learning how to reuse a limb after it was damaged?" Noriko questioned with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile. Almost immediately her daughter's blue eyes went wide with horror. The mother stopped the girl before she started apologizing. "None of that missy. I'll I'm glad that you understand that comments like those could be seen as insensitive and that you now have a baseline experience for relearning how to use limbs. But I've told you time and again not walk on eggshells around over that. Besides it thanks to that hand injury that I could quit being a shinobi to take care of you and follow my real dream of running our flower shop."

Ino saw her mother's content expression and she felt relieved. Still, this was a topic that was rarely talked about which was weird given her mother never shied away from shinobi talk. "Do you miss it? Being out on the field I mean."

"I would be lying if I said I didn't. There is just something about being out on the battlefield with your teammates at your side fighting to protect the downtrodden that give you a sense of fulfillment, you know? Still, I always did like working with plants and making potions more than slicing open a bandit's throat. Plus, I sleep well every night knowing that my elixirs and creams are out there being used in the hospital and field to save people's lives," Noriko explained while patting the girl's head. "Now why don't you try to do another straight line on the paper and you can take a ten-minute rest. After that, I'll give you a test on your botany and chemistry knowledge."

"You really want to see me have a class change, don't you?"

"My daughter has a chance to unlock the true power of her bloodline limit. A power not seen since the clan fonder I might add. There is no way in hell I going to let my child fail if I can help it. Plus, it will be the perfect FU to that insufferable grandmother of your," the brunette announced with a grin.

"Yeah. Her… you don't think she knows about me, right?" Ino inquired with a worried look. Seeing her child in that state awakened Noriko's mama bear instincts as the mother quickly enveloped her cub in a hug.

"Don't worry dear. Inoichi managed to cut your telepathic link before in reach anyone else last night. That monster has no idea of your potential and if we play our cards right, she wouldn't until it's too late for her. As far as your father and I are concern that woman already dug her grave. It's only a matter of time until we bury her. You gaining the chance to become stronger is just a bonus" the mother told as she kissed her child's forehead reassuringly.

"Thank you," the child responded as she accepted the affection and safety provided by her mother.

Last night had been an experience, to say the least. After Kakashi-sensei had dropped off and talked a bit with her parents they told Ino she was free to take a bath before dinner. After which they eat with the parents making a bulk of the conversation as, to both their surprise and pleasure, the young Yamanaka was too busy stuffing her face with the home-cooked meal. However, Ino knew she needed to speak to her parents about her new powers like Benihime suggested.

Hence, she had asked her parents to follow her into the training room. There Ino had thought of showing off her new abilities by maybe moving a training dummy or crushing a water bottle. Regretfully the moment she took off the circlet Naruko had made to dampen her power everything went wrong. Not a moment after the amethyst attached to the metal left heiress's forehead did the headache came at full forced and at least twice as strong. That was all Ino remembered because the next time the Yamanaka opened her eyes she was laying in her mother's lap with the dampener back on.

Understandably she had asked what had happened. Noriko and Inoichi looked at each other before nodding and activating a privacy seal. Once it was done the father explained that while Ino screamed in pain she had released a wave of chakra meant to establish a mental link with others through telepathy. This was naturally one the clan's strongest techniques which surprised both parents that their daughter could use it without the aid of amplifiers. Thankfully their jonin training had kicked in immediately as they heard their daughter's pain. Thus, Inoichi acted quickly by using his own mental strength to soothe the heiress ailing mind and putting her at rest.

However, the links had been established with the parents and while their minds where disciplined to withstand metal attacks and information extraction due to years of training their daughter's mind wasn't. Therefore, the two were able to acquire all the information Ino had gained about Naruko and the Uzumaki's new abilities from the telepathic broadcast the young girl had involuntarily unleashed. Thankfully, for Ino's mental wellbeing, the parents assured her that she wasn't in trouble and that they would meet with the Hokage to explain what happened.

"Don't worry my little flower. Naruko-chan, the secret is safe with us," Noriko had promised while cleaning her daughter's face with a cold rag.

After this, and the parents now knowing what their daughter had wanted to explain, Inoichi went on to inform that want Benihime called psionic abilities were just an extension of their bloodline limit. To the less informed they would say it was a natural evolution of an ability that uses mental powers as its baseline. In truth, however, it was more like finding and unlocking a door you forgot had been there all along. The reason behind this being that, based on old journals and text dating back to the creation of the Yamanaka clan, the first Yamanaka's mental powers where far stronger than the one the clan possesses today.

The patriarch hadn't gone into enough detail to explain these save that of three wide categories the founder liked to group the powers. The first category is called Trance which was their ability to manipulate other's minds. The others were Burst, which Inoichi speculated was what Ino had done in the dungeon, and finally, Rise. After that the parents promised to help their daughter master or at least control each one so she wouldn't be a danger to herself or her teammates while being an utter nightmare to her enemies.

"Ino-chan," Noriko called out and snapping her daughter out of her reminiscing. "Remember what your father said before he went to the Hokage. Burst is the ability to manipulate the world around us with our minds. Think of it exactly like chakra only it's an extra arm and hand that you can use to move things around you. Now first visualize an arm connected to your shoulder. Then let it grow until you reach the quill. Next, imagine a hand attached to the end of the arm and slowly grabbed the quill. From there dip the quill in the ink and softly make a line on the paper."

Ino followed her mother's instructions as she closed her eyes. In her mind's eye, the heiress imagined the arm slowly emerging from her shoulder. It wasn't stable was the limb kept twitching and its "skin" wiggled but at least it could move. Then as sweat started to build on her brow Ino visualized a cartoonish three-fingered hand at the end of the arm. Then she slowly lowered the hand towards the quill.

'_Okay, now Ino… Firmly grasp it in your hand,_' Ino told herself as missed the first time. '_Firmly grasp it,_' she thought again as the quill lifted a little only to slip from her fingers. '_FIRMLY GRASP IT!_' she yelled to herself. In less than a second, she managed to flick the quill pen to her forehead. "Ouch! Dammit, all! That like the tenth time," the young Yamanaka cursed as her stupid hand attacked her.

"Well, we never said it would be easier," Noriko said reassuringly while trying to suppress her laugh. '_Poor girl, it reminds me of Ichi-kun trying to lit up a match with his mind. He always managed to lit his hair on fire._'

* * *

**A/N:**

1) Naruko is still weaker than everyone else but you have to remember she had her powers reset. The girl hasn't taken the chance to start grinding.

2) I don't know why Hinata confronted her father this early. That scene pretty much wrote itself without much of my control.

3) Pat yourself on the back, if you know, were the terms for Ino's psychic powers come from.

**Update (02/03/2020):** Small change to Tenten's weapon shop name. By mistake, I called it Broken Coin when it should have been Higurashi Weapons.


	13. Building and Fortifying

**Chapter 13: Building and Fortifying**

[Unknown location]

A man, known to the students of the academy as the Headmaster, found himself being roughly shoved into a chair. This was followed by ropes coiling around his wrist and ankles until it became impossible to move those extremities.

"What is the meaning of this?! Where am I? Do you have any idea who I am?!" screamed the Headmaster into the darkness. The last thing he remembered was paying his beloved Amayaki-chan for another night of passion. After that, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head as he started to fall and unluckily his right eye smacked the door handle. "Once I get out-"

The hit across his face shut him up before he could finish.

"Whoops. Sorry about that. I was supposed to take off the bag but I missed. Silly me!" a female voice announced with a childlike giggle. "Let me turn on the light first so it doesn't happen again."

The Headmaster felt the heat of the lamp on him right before the bag was yanked off his face. This finally let him see that his capture was a woman with the slender yet fit body of a seasoned kunoichi, violet hair styled in a fanned-ponytail. The kunoichi was dressed in an opened tan overcoat that showed her mesh shirt and orange skirt. However, it was the woman's light brown pupil-less eyes that stopped him from salivation at the majesty of female anatomy that was Anko Mitarashi standing over him. Her eyes promised that she was going to have _fun_ and he wasn't.

"Okay! Now that you can see me, I can answer your questions," Anko answered cheerfully. Then she pulled out a folder full of files from her overcoat and started reading "Name is Hiroshi with no last name. Blood type B-. Height is 5'6''. Weight 218lbs. Age 51. Features: brown hair and eyes, medium built and a scar on the right thigh from a kunai stab. Current ninja rank: chunin since the age of 18. Years of service would be 39 next year. Primary elemental nature classified as Fire with a possible secondary affinity to Earth. Marital status divorced. Number of children: 1 who went to live with his mother after your divorce. The child is currently living happily married to his wife and has not contacted you since he turned 18. Your current occupation is that Headmaster of the Ninja Academy which you've had for the last 22 years. Reported completed missions are 290 D-ranks, 237 C-ranks, 100 A-ranks, and 0 S-rank. Have I missed anything?"

"Yes! Where am I and why was I brought here?" Hiroshi asked as he tried to get up. Immediately he felt the ropes around him tighten and hiss at him.

"Now, now girls. No cutting the circulation to his limbs yet. I haven't even started the interrogation," Anko softly reprimanded her snakes. The four black snakes hiss again and somehow managed to look annoyed before letting go slightly. "Now Hiroshi-san, as to where you are that is a simple answer. This is a room in the Torture & Interrogation department. As for why you are here? That also a simple question to answer. See the Hokage managed to acquire, from reputable sources, some very interesting pieces of information about you! More specific information about how you, Hiroshi-san, have deliberately sabotaged our student learning by cutting parts or outright eliminating lessons."

"HA! Is that what this whole thing is about? Please, all I've done is lower the requirements so that more students graduate. My only crime is helping foster and bolster our numbers so that other villages wouldn't think of us as weaklings," Hiroshi proclaimed with pride.

"Really?" Anko asked with a child-like surprise. Then smirked sadistically raised her right leg. Not a second later a very high-pitched yelp filled the room. "Is that what you called not teaching kunoichi about sex? Not teaching them one of their strongest attack and defense is making it easier for them to graduate? Am I hearing that right?" Each question was emphasized with the foot pressing for side to side on its new perch. "What's that? Can't talk right now? Oh, don't worry Hiroshi-san. You and I have _~all~ _of the weekend to talk. And I'm a good student. I'll. Hear. Everything. You. Have. To. Say."

Outside of the interrogation room through the one-way mirror, two shinobi were watching the Special-Jonin do her work. Both of them wince in shared male pain at what the woman had just done.

"Damn. Who the hell threw that poor bastard at Anko-senpai?" the first one asked. Before his companion could answer a voice from the back was heard.

"I did," the voice said with barely restrained rage. They jumped slightly and turned to see Inoichi Yamanaka resting against the wall with arms crossed and a glare that was just half a degree short from melting the glass. "That stain of humanity put my little princess in danger and I want to know why." Seeing Inoichi's glare reminded the two responsible for retrieving the Headmaster that the man was a jonin for a reason. Normally the guy was a lovable goof who likes being friends with people just so he could show pictures of his little princess and sing praises about any of her accomplishments. Thus, seeing the man turn deathly serious and almost out for blood caused a bit of whiplash. Thankfully they did their job by bringing Hiroshi to the wolves' den so all they had to do now as stay quiet and let the wolves feast.

Moments later an annoyed and slightly disappointed Ibiki Morino walked into their room.

"Did he break yet?" Ibiki asked Inoichi who scuffed.

"Anko-chan just step on his balls after reading his bio. What about you?" the father inquired back. The questioned commanding officer of T&I sighed as if he had just lost a bet.

"The woman cracked like an egg thrown into a wall the moment I told her my name and where she was. She begged and pled that she would give up everything so long as we didn't harm or execute her to treason. Right now, she's answering everything on videotape and later she will give a written confession," he said with a shake of his head. "To her credit, the only treason she has committed so far was giving that one class. Since prostitution is legal here her crimes just amount to fraud, embezzlement, blackmail, extortion and some others, you know the usual. She also threw our dear Hiroshi over there under the horse carriage. Said it was his idea for her to give the students the talk," Ibiki finished.

"And she did a crap job," the father growled while also blaming himself for not thinking he did need to ask his daughter about her sexuality. '_Dammit. I really should have asked Nori-chan to help with that. At least Benihime-san filled in some of the gaps. And thank the Log that fairy didn't do it literally._'

"Hey," Ibiki called out to the other two jonin in the room. "Where is Chunin Mizuki? The report from Sandaime-sama implicated him in this. So, where is he?"

"His off-limits," Inoichi answered with a smirk. "Naruko Uzumaki called dibs."

"That poor bastard. Even Anko knows how to show restraint."

Said restraint was shown by how gently she moved Hiroshi's head so he could get a better look at some documents. It was too bad for him that gravity decided at the precise moment to from a pool in the area of the papers and his head a pull towards it at high speed.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Mizuki's Apartment]

"Hey… Are we that bad guy?" a Naruko clone asked her sibling.

"Why do you ask?" the acting leader clone inquired back.

"We lockpicked our way into his home."

"Like any proper ninja should."

"We stole some weapons and money from him."

"Adventures don't steal. They're just very lucky at finding things of value in other people's houses."

"I'm spreading itching powder all-over Mizuki-sensei's underwear."

"Men like to scratch. It's natural!"

"One of us is putting neon puke green hair dye on all of his hair products."

"The man needs some color in his life."

"We change all of his porn for yaoi!"

"That enough private! One more out of you and that's it!"

"No please! I have a wife and daughter back home! I need the money!"

"Good to hear. Now keep spreading that powder. Meanwhile, I need to dump this catfish Charlie on the upper deck of his toilet. Good thing we clones can't smell."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Unknown location]

Naruko didn't know how long it had passed but for some reason her entire back was wet. However, it wasn't from the crashing waves but more like a puddle of water had formed around her. In confusion, blue eyes opened to see the corridor of a dark sewer with multiple doors. Weirdly enough, even though there was no light source everything was tinted in sickly yellow.

\- _Where the hell am I?_ -

"The hell?!" Naruko screamed as she turned around fists up. To her alarm, the source of the echo was not there.

\- _Why did that sound like me?_ –

Once more the Uzumaki jumped at the echo of her voice. But she quickly had noticed that the voice was not only an echo of her own but it said what she had thought. Curiously she tested this out with random thoughts or sounds and sure enough, everything was copied and expelled into the sewer she found herself.

\- _This place is weird. I wonder how I got here? Where is this any? _–

_**Ring**_

_**Ring**_

_**Ring**_

\- _Huh? _–

Naruko stared in confusion when the blue window showed the image of a smiling Benihime. Below the picture was a handle that was shaking with each ring. Weirder still, the handle said to slide to the green right to receive and to the red left to end the call. Even with all the games, she played which show really advance technology she had never seen those symbols. Still, she wanted answers so she slid the green handle.

[Hello? Hello? Naruko do you hear me?] Naruko heard and read from the new chat-box that held the static image of her friend.

"Yes. I can hear and read your chat-box, Beni-chan. Where are you and for that manner where am I?"

[You can see and hear the chat-box? Oh, thank the gods you picked up the phone call. I haven't even seen a payphone around the village so I didn't think you could understand how to use the interface of a smartphone. Anyway, now that you've answered, I have good news, great news, bad news, and worse news. Which do you want to hear first?]

"Worse and bad first please," Naruko said already dreading what the information would be.

[Okay worst news is that it turns out that meditating right before you get forcibly expelled from a map is a very bad idea. Somehow it caused your consciousness to be separated from its physical body. The bad news is that once your body exited the dungeon map it closed for the next 24 hours. I had to break all sorts of rules and regulations to hack the map's code into opening up again. It took me like two hours to get through all of the security measures but now we can get 3hrs and 30mins to grind the dungeon. Regretfully this came at the cost of only being able to open it once every 30days.

The good news is that we still had enough clones in this side of reality to form a search party to find your trapped consciousness. Thankfully your astral body was still there at the rocky shore so we managed to put it into an empty bottle and bring it back home. The great news is that your body is in perfect health though once you wake up, you're going to be a little loopy. Kind of like waking up from general anesthesia.]

"Okay, glad I'm not dead. But that still doesn't explain why I'm in a sewer when you just said I'm back home."

[Oh right… that part…]

"Beni-chan? What's wrong? That kind of worries me. Am I in a coma or something?" Naruko questioned with slight distress in her voice.

["Or something" is a good way to describe it. While I was diagnosing your body for any problems, I noticed that your meditation skill changed. I guessing it evolved or morphed due to this experience. Here you should look at it.]

* * *

**{Skills}**

**Meditation**

Description – An ancient practice used to clear one's self of all unimportant thoughts and distractions. Through this practice of remaining still and emptying one's mind, the person can become one with the world and reach a higher level of focus or consciousness.

Allows the user to enter their mindscape

Allows the user to slowly gather [REDACTED] chakra

If enough [REDACTED] chakra is gathered [REDACTED] mode can be achieved

** WARNING!** Gathering [REDACTED] chakra without proper training will prove fatal to the user.

* * *

"Going by this information… Am I to assume I'm in my mindscape? I don't think I've ever heard that term."

[A mindscape is a metaphysical realm that represents your mind. In simpler terms it's an imagined place that shows you how your mind is based on the experiences you've lived through.]

"So… that means… my mind is a freaking sewer because my life has been shit. Great, I'm sure the therapist will have a field day with this," Naruko grumbled/cursed. The Uzumaki had known for a while that she had problems, being either completely ignored or blamed for everything didn't make for a healthy childhood upbringing, but she didn't think it was this bad.

\- _A sewer?! Seriously?! That is just beyond depressing. Hell, what does that even mean? That my life is so shitty that I view the world as nothing but a dark, cold, wet, awful smelling and all-around disgusting place? Just how sad is that?_ -

[You can probably change that. I could hear your thoughts being broadcast as you can. Though I think this can only be done in the central matrix. Let me look for it for a moment…

…

…

…

Oh, no.] Benihime said with terror. Even her static profile picture change to show she was blue with shock.

"Great, let me guess. It's where my worst memories and nightmares are having a tea party?" the Uzumaki asked with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.

[Worst… It's in front of the seal keeping the Kyubi imprisoned,] the fairy said as the map opened before the gamer.

…

…

…

"Fuck."

Really, what else was she supposed to say to that? The key to making her mind at least looks a little healthier as in front of a demon. A demon that was one-third of the reason her life had been so miserable. It was like-

* * *

~ **New Quest! ~**

**[(Mandatory) Face your demons for a healthier mind!]**

[Description – Today is the day you finally see the face of the demon seal in you. What will happen when you face each other? Only by reaching the demon will you know.]

[Mission: Reach the Kyubi's location]

[Reward #1: Unlocks Mindscape Editor]

[Reward #2: Building Core can be bought in Game Store]

* * *

Naruko saw and the quest which made the mindscape become filled with all manner of curses. Yet the whiskered girl knew that no matter what she needed to complete this quest or suffer whatever punishment the system thought of.

\- _It would probably put me in a coma until I finish or worst it could give the Kyubi free rein to control my body._ –

Hence the grumbling jinchuriki started to walk towards her destination. She followed the map as best she could but it soon proved to be a mistake. The reason being that at times it would become distorted and then showed she was an entirely different position. After the third time, this happened out of frustration Naruko summon a piece of paper and a pencil to draw the map so she could follow that instead. Regretfully doing so ended with her facing a door that once she entered Naruko was forced to relive the night she had to sleep cemetery because at least there the dogs wouldn't try to bite her.

"Log dammit!" the blonde cursed as she exited the door and smashed her fist against the wall to her right. She had decided to go in the opposite direction when the wall crumbled and she felt the heat coming from the wall. Considering she was tired of just feeling frustrated and wet feet, she turned to the collapsed wall and found a set of pipes. One was emitting blue energy and the other red. "Hey Beni-chan, are you getting this?"

[No, sorry. All I get is the audio from your end. Any visuals are from the map layout that keeps changing. Sorry to say but this seems to confirm that you are a scatterbrain,] Benihime answered and for the first time in what felt like hours Naruko laughed.

"Okay, I admit that was a good one. But getting back on topic, I am seeing two pipes. One is glowing with blue light and the other with orange-red. If this place is a representation of my mind: would this represent how I see my chakra network?"

[It's a safe bet given the sewer theme. Try using **Scan** on the red pipe with any luck that one will lead you to the Kyubi.]

"Just how messes up if my life that I _want_ to walk into the den of the mountain size fox capable of destroying a ninja village?" Naruko asked as she scanned the pipe. The moment the skill was activated the Uzumaki could see through the walls and see the direction of the red pipes. With the hope that this would finally lead to the exit out of the maze that was her mind, Naruko followed the red chakra. To her dismay, the walk still took too long but at least she felt like she was progressing towards somewhere while exploring through the twists and turns. Then she turned a corner into the gigantic room that contained cell bars tagged on every surface with seals and chains that all joined at the very center.

[You've reached your destination Naruko-chan. Can you see the Kyubi?] Benihime questioned upon seeing her mistress' location.

"I see the bars and seal holding it together but everything inside the cell is covered in darkness. What I do see is a desk with a chair and one of those new tv-box computers with keyboards on it. It even has a floating red arrow pointing at it. Heh, cheeky," Naruko informed with a small chuckle at seeing the extra obvious goal.

[The thought that a computer terminal from the 1970s is considered new makes an A.I. like me weep,] the fairy deadpanned before going back to business. [Trusting the Yondaime and your mother's abilities in making seal we can say that those bars should hold the tail-beast at bay. Still processed with cation. The quest pretty much said you would meet the Kyubi here.]

Acknowledging the warning Naruko slowly walks towards the terminal while keeping an eye on the darkness beyond the bars. The whiskered girl managed to reach and computer. She took a glance at the prison and waited for something to happen. However, nothing did except for her hearing the beast breathe as it most likely slept. Therefore she took a seat on the chair and looked at the terminal.

* * *

[How you wish to start Mindscape Editor tutorial?]

[**YES**/NO]

~ Mindscape Tutorial ~

[Welcome to the tutorial for editing your mind! As I'm sure you wish to let your imagination run wild this will be brief. For starters with this editor, you can transform your mindscape into _anything_ you wish so long as you have enough Imagination Points or IP for short. Each item, structure or background setting you wish to place on the mind cost a predetermined amount of IP. During the mindscape editing process, you will have access to a shop menu that shows previews of how the items look and the cost of your creations. If you do not like what you placed it can be scrapped and will be refunded for 50% of its cost. IP regenerates naturally by 100 per hour. As a special bonus for Naruko Uzumaki, the IP will be retroactive to her age.]

[Do you wish to reset the mindscape? **The first**** reset will be free!**]

[YES/NO]

* * *

"As if you had to ask," Naruko commented and accepted the reset. As soon she pressed the button the sewer around her started being eaten by white as chunk after chunk was disintegrated into oblivion. It wasn't long until all that left was her, the computer terminal, the bars, and the Kyubi.

"**What the hell are you doing, welp?**" the booming voice of the strongest of the nine called out in anger. Understandably the small Uzumaki jumped to her feet and stared up at the massive creature. Seeing as she was just three inches below Hinata, thus making Naruko 4'5'', looking up to a creature that makes mountains into molehills was terrifying. "**Hey! I asked you why are you willingly wiping your mind? Is your pathetic life so miserable that you need to do away with what? Five years of memories at best? You, humans, have such short memory it's almost laughable.**"

\- _I'm not killing my memories you stupid fox! Oh dammit! I forgot about the echo thoughts!_ –

"**I'm going to stop that right now. I don't want you annoying shrill voice to echo,**" the Kyubi said and banged the white floor. A wave of red chakra flew through the white void and as the gale winds washed over Naruko could just tell that whatever the fox did work. "**Now getting back to the subject at hand. If you aren't throwing away your memories then what-**" the demon fox stopped as his enormous red eyes caught something floating above Naruko's head. At first, they thought it was seeing things so they tried to focus harder and the fox did not like what it saw. "**Oh no… Not again! I refuse to deal with this bullshit once more!**"

And with that one of the strongest creatures in existence turned around to leave into the white void.

"Hey wait a minute!" Naruko called out in surprise and indignation at being ignored like that. "Get back here you stupid fox! I need to have some words with you," the blonde yelled as she ran to the bars.

"**I don't give a damn. Come back to me when you're at least something other than a useless Novice,**" the red challenged as it kept walking until it was a mountain of red fur in the distance.

"I can still see you, you know," the puny Uzumaki called out. In response, the Kyubi snapped its fingers and the whole side of his mindscape became a dense forest with the fox more than likely in its underground den. "Of all the inconsiderate jerks. And what the heck did he mean again? I've never even met him before!"

[Hmm, maybe this Kyubi somehow got the memories of another one that dealt with a Naruto(ko) Uzumaki that possessed the Gamer Soul bloodline limit? The multiverse is all expanding and stranger this can happen.]

"Another Naruto? That sounds like a male version of me. I know I can make shadow clones but are there other "me"s out there?"

[Oh yes, from just one database alone there are 430K+ versions of the being known as Naruto Uzumaki. Of those 3.1K+ are denominated as a female like yourself.]

"That's… a lot," Naruko said in a stupor. "Hey, wait a minute. Why are there more Narutos than Naruko?"

[That's because the original was a male. In other words, yours a gender-flip version of him. You still count as a Naru_ Uzumaki in the grand scheme of things but you're still an individual.]

"Let's… Let's just turned this place into a fantasy forest for now so I can get back. I'm starting to get a headache."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Naruko's Apartment]

Naruko slowly opened her eyes as her apartment came into view and when she tried to get up she suffered a small case of vertigo. Thankfully it only lasted a few moments as the blonde realized she was on the floor with Benihime sitting by her head.

"Good evening, Naruko-chan. Are you feeling alright?" Benihime asked while giving the girl a once over.

"Besides the slight dizziness, I'm okay. Wait, evening? It's nighttime already?" Naruko questioned back while gently sitting up to look out the window. Sure enough, it was night outside and the stars were shining. "Damn I was out for a while, huh? Too bad I wanted to do another dungeon map today."

"Technically you can do another map today. But it would have to be a speedrun of it," the fairy commented. Then she added "Still, now that we're in a safe zone, why not make the new slime gear? It could prove useful."

Agreeing with the sentiment Naruko summoned her Fun-Size-Forge and looked for the slime gear recipes. Just like the first time the young kunoichi opened that section of the recipe book she grinned in excitement. Then the Uzumaki selected the first weapon to forge and got to work.

* * *

{**Equipment**}

Gooper Scythe [Lv1] |Unique| (Two-Handed)

Description - An easy-to-ooze scythe in a gooey blue hue.

+30ATK

* * *

Naruko had to whistle in awe at the weapon she just created. It was just created and already it was five points stronger than her legendary Mandible Blades. The staff was made of a solid metal-colored sky blue that felt cold like a nice fresh cup of water on a hot summer day. The top of the staff was adorned with a silly happy slime smiling at everyone to its front and back. Yet the strangest part of the scythe was its blade which looked like it was made of see-through blue tinted glass with waves at the edge.

"I never thought I would say this but this scythe is really cute," Naruko said with a grin as she marveled her new creation. She stood up and gave it a few swings to get a feel for the new weapon. "Wow, it's even lighter! I've handled broomsticks heavier than this thing. Guess the secret of slime gear is that it's both solid and light. I wonder want the armor will be like considering the metal slime type are usually really strong."

"Actually," Benihime started which stopped the jinchuriki. "Why not use the last five Goometals to make a set of gauntlets? It's true that in a lot of old school videogames you can only equip one set of weapons but this is still real life. Hence you can mix a few things. Like, say take off the Leather Braces around your arms and substituted them for the gauntlets. Plus, you can still use your Thieves Gloves under said gauntlets."

"You think that will work?"

"It's worth a try at least and if it doesn't work you just made another weapon for your arsenal."

The Uzumaki shrugged with a grin as she couldn't pass up the chance of experimenting. Thus, she selected the item and started forging.

* * *

{**Equipment**}

Gooey Gloves [Lv1] |Unique| (Two-handed/Arm Armor)

Description – Gootiful blue gloves with a sweet little slime on the back.

+30ATK

+10DEF

* * *

"Heh, you were right Beni-chan. I can wear them as both," Naruko exclaimed in delight as she saw and equipped the new piece. The gauntlets started over her knuckles and end about halfway down her forearm. The metal was the same sky blue as the scythe and it had the white silhouette of a smiling slime at the back of her hand. Once more the metal felt refreshingly cold to the skin without causing any discomfort as time passed. Weirdly enough these gauntlets blocked the whiskered girl from wear her slime watch so even with the jacket on you could see she was wearing them.

Naruko shrugged as it looked cool and looked at her stats. Blue eyes nearly popped out as her attack had reached 83 thanks to the two weapons. The grin on the Uzumaki's face threaten to split it in half and she brought out the Adventuring Atlas to look at the available maps. Out of the five in her possession, she could only enter the Infested Sewer [Lv1 - 5] and Abandoned Village [Lv1 - 15]. Not wanting to risk death, for now, she selected the sewers. However, before Naruko could fully commit a memory played back in her mind. Said memory being of her puking her soul out during the first dungeon she explored. Without a second thought, she opened the store and bought a gas mask; it had an orange lens of course. Now with both the gamer and fairy protected against the stench the map was selected.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Adventure Map – Infested Sewer (F-Rank)]

(1 hour later)

"You know," Naruko started as she punched a bat into a bloody mist. "I knew this dungeon wouldn't be that tough," she continued while sidestepping a tackle from a rat and kicked it in the ribs as it passed by. The impact sent the creature flying into a wall where it stopped moving as its side had caved in. "But this is just sad." The last rat tried to bite the Uzumaki's neck but due to her higher defense, its teeth couldn't even dent the skin. Naruko easily elbowed it on the throat to make it let go. She then grabbed its head and snapped its neck.

"At least you're practicing your hand to hand combat. That was one of your weaker skills."

"Heh, there is always a bright side," the whiskered girl chuckled as she closed the congratulations window. Ever since they entered this dungeon the materials were all of the common rarity, the rarest thing on the found in a chest were healing herbs or a few bronze whetstones and the monster themselves were no challenge. At least the XP provided by the monsters, meager as it as individually, proved to be a good boon for Naruko and, as Benihime mentioned, her hand to hand combat skills. She even managed to raise that skill by two levels.

Regretfully level 1 only raised her attack is she was unarmed and level 3 only increased her speed if she didn't have armor on. Thankfully level 2 did give her Multi-Fist which let her strike up to ten times with each fist in quick succession. Practicing with this skill Naruko learned four things about it that made it fun to use.

Number one: being able to do a 20-hit combo quickly if she uses both fists.

Number two: it looked like she had six arms moving at the same time.

Number three: the skill could be used for kicking as well.

Number four: she looked like a freaking DBZ character when punching or kicking super fast.

"Hopefully the boss here gives me enough XP to level up," Naruko commented while looking at her UI which said her XP was at 732/880.

"Just remember to keep your guard up. Just because the enemies here were easy doesn't mean the boss will. Then again, your three levels over and have a huge advantage in strength and numbers," Benihime noted as she floated around.

"Trust me, after the beatings I've taken I'm trying to be ready for anything."

With that, the masked Uzumaki entered the final room in the sewer. Upon entering the chamber, she noticed it was a makeshift throne room covered in waste on all sides. Then at the far back was the throne occupied by an extremely fat rat. The monster was at least 10ft tall, covered in scars, blisters, patches of missing hair, areas oozing pus and it was blind. In its deformed clawed-hands, it held a rusted green brass scepter. On its top, it had the head of a rat with its maw open that seem to constantly breathe out a green mist.

Naruko scanned the creature.

* * *

**Disease Rat King [Lv5] ~ The Ruler of the Sewers ~**

HP: 1500

MP: 150

ATK: 025

DEF: 038

SPD: 000

INT: 015

Description – A true rat king while never a benevolent or even fair creature at least it doesn't see its subjects as food. This one, however, has spent too much time inhaling the fumes of its poisonous specter. Careful for while it cannot move due to its grotesque obesity the madness brought about by its rotten brain mean it will not die without a fight.

**Techniques:** Call for Reinforcement, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Poisonous Miasma

* * *

"Who's there? ***sniff*** I smell something. ***sniff*** I smell ***sniff*** FOOD! Kill! Most kill food," the rat king yelled while slamming the butt of its scepter. The clang of the rusted metal echoed through the chamber however it was soon drowned out by the screeching of thousands upon thousands of rats. Naruko didn't take a chance and summoned her Gooper Scythe at the ready.

Moments later pipes or walls exploded with rodents of a variety of sizes though none even half the size of the king. Naruko remained calm as the sea of fur and disease ran at her. Still, she did not want to test her defense against that many teeth and therefore Naruko launched her scythe horizontally like a buzz saw. As the weapon parted the sea as the kunoichi created 10 clones. Then the eleven rushed in while punching and kicking at everything in sight. Regretfully the girls were being quickly overwhelmed on the ground so Naruko told them to go for the ceiling.

Out of the group, only the original and four clones managed to stick to the roof. The rat king heard this and screamed in frustration as it threw a temper tantrum on its throne. After catching her scythe, the Uzumaki and her team ran at the monster. However, they had too quickly scatter as the monster vomited at them. The splash damage took out two and the rest were forced to land in the sea of rodents. As soon as Naruko felt the biting of her toes she summoned five more clones.

Given this time the blonde still had her scythe the clones had theirs as well. Everyone then utilized them to unleash their **Whirlwind of Doom** that easily cut through the attacking rats. Once they had breathing room, they all threw the scythes at the immovable king. The creature heard the blades wheezing towards him and pointed his staff which quickly unleashed a green mist. Seeing this Naruko double jumped back while ordering her clones to cast **Force Push** on the miasma.

Better than planned the spells created wall that kept the miasma at bay. The scythes also all landed true which already took away half of the monster's health. This news was great Naruko as she decided to end this quickly. After everyone caught their weapons the Uzumaki quickly drank down enough mana potions to restore her to full power and summoned ten more clones. Then with a sadistic grin, they all threw their scythes at the king.

All 16 blades shredded the king into bloody chunks.

* * *

[**Congratulations! You've won!**]

[You've gained 150XP]

[Loot: Random Adventure Map [Lv1 - 10], Rat tail |common| x20, Beast teeth |common| x05, Specter of the Rat King |Rare| [Lv1] and 50 silver coins]

[You've leveled up!]

Naruko Uzumaki [Lv9] ~Trickster Queen~

Job: Novice

XP: 002 / 1,023

HP: 259 + 21 = 280

MP: 1,810 + 75 = 1,885

ATK: 83 + 1 = 84

DEF: 056 + 1 = 057

AGI: 025 + 1 = 026

VIT: 031 + 1 = 032

INT: 033 + 1 = 034

SPR: 293 + 6 = 299

PER: 015 + 1 = 016

Attribute Points: 0000 + 10 = 0010

* * *

"Wow, you didn't even need me for that one," Benihime commented thought it did sound prouder than anything else.

"I'll take the compliment and I was right. Beating adventure maps does give me access to more," Naruko said with a grin as she collected the loot and dispelled her clones. Seconds later she felt the violent pull of getting expelled from the dungeon.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Naruko's Apartment]

The Adventure Atlas which was sitting on a coffee table suddenly started to shine. Moments later a vortex portal erupted out of the book and violently spat out Naruko. The girl, given she was knocked out the first, didn't expect the force with which she was being thrown at. Hence, she couldn't stop herself from becoming a sticker on the ceiling. Seconds later the whiskered girl crashed onto the small table and turned it into splitters.

"Oooooowwww," Naruko moaned as she tried to get up. "Why didn't you warn me about that, Beni-chan?" The question was met with silence. "Beni-chan? Beni-chan?!" the girl asked again while frantically looking for her friend. Then she heard a moan coming to her chest. Looking down the blonde noticed the fairy had been squashed flat like a cartoon. With some worry, she peeled the fairy off and gave her a quick whip in the air. Just like a cartoon, the fairy popped back to her normal form. However, the little redhead was very dizzy. "Are you okay?"

"The world is spinning," the redhead said as she saw stars.

"Guess that's the sigh we should call it a day," the whiskered girl chuckled. "Thought first let me used those AP."

HP: 280 + 10 = 290

AGI: 26 + 4 = 030

VIT: 32 + 3 = 035

INT: 34 + 2 = 036

PER: 16 + 1 = 017

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(Next day: Sunday)

After doing her morning workout Naruko bought the Building Core which cost a hefty 500 silver coins. Once acquired item turned out to be a glowing see-through green cube with an orb inside of it. The object could fit comfortably on her hand and it was made of the same ethereal material as her screens which meant it could be touched but it had no weight or substance to it. After this Naruko began reading the tutorial. The text explained that the core could only be used on properties she owned the deed to. The only exception was dungeons where it could be used to create settlements or home bases where she could choose to be summoned to instead of the default starting area.

Once activated, much like the Mindscape Editor, the whiskered girl would enter a building mode where she could create, dismantle and arrange the structure to her heart's content. However, unlike the mindscape here she did need genuine materials or money if she wanted to skip the creation process. Thankfully dismantling gave back 100% of the materials used thought one that to pay a fee for that process to. Thankfully this meant Naruko could start breaking down things around the apartment to amass the supplies.

"Wait, I think it would be best to look for advice before I start this," Naruko thought and closed the building mode after repairing her broken coffee table.

"That's a good idea but first you should ask one of the people that know about your powers," Benihime suggested.

"We have a problem with that. I don't know were any of them live," the Uzumaki confessed which the fairy looked at her weirdly.

"But you knew where Mizuki live?"

"I asked Jiji while he was teaching me the **Shadow Clone Jutsu**. We even shared the same knowing evil grin," Naruko commented with an evil smirk. Benihime chuckled while shaking her head.

"Hey," the Navi started "your Friend List is empty, correct? Why don't you send the players on your list of Recently Played With a Friend Request? Once they accept, you'll be able to tell where they are if you're on the same map."

At this point, the Uzumaki was just accepting the weirdness of her bloodline limit. Hence, she followed the instructions and sent the invites.

[Benihime has accepted your friend request.]

[Hinata Hyuga has accepted your friend request.]

[Ino Yamanaka has accepted your friend request.

[Iruka Umino has accepted your friend request.]

[Hiruzen Sarutobi has accepted your friend request.]

[Kakashi Hatake has accepted your friend request.]

[Kurenai Yuhi has accepted your friend request.]

After getting the notifications Naruko opened her map of Konoha. Sure enough, she could see her friends' positions due to the new marker with their faces.

"Ino-chan is probably at her home. Kurenai-sensei and Hinata-chan are together so they're likely training. Jiji and Iruka are in Hokage Office probably working on the new school program. That just leaves Kakashi-sensei who's in a training ground," the Uzumaki pointed out. With her destination decided she set out to look for the pug loving jonin.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Near Training Ground #3]

Wanting to test out her new agility Naruko took the _Ninja Highway_ (the rooftop hopping) towards Kakashi. The blonde was elated to see she was almost back to her original speed. Still it took some time to reach the jonin.

Once Naruko reached Kakashi she noticed he was standing in front of a stone monument.

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei," the student called out with respect.

The jonin gave a short nod of acknowledgment but for the most part, stayed still. Wondering about the importance of the stone the girls walked towards it. Once closed they could see it was covered with names and it wasn't long before Benihime noticed two names next to each other.

Kushina Uzumaki

Minato Namikaze

"Those… Those are the names of my mother and the Yondaime," Naruko commented while touching the inscription. "This is a monument for those killed and missing in action, isn't it?"

"Yes," Kakashi answer soberly. "For many, this is the only evidence they could leave of their existence in this world."

The man's words resonated around the Uzumaki's mind and it felt like something finally clicked. In this world and their profession, not everyone got their happily ever after. Sometimes, like her mother and the Yondaime, life was ended abruptly and without reason or a proper explanation. Sometimes, no matter how strong you fought or how much you achieve, all you could leave behind as a name on a stone filled with others like yourself.

It was a sobering experience for the young kunoichi hopeful.

"Sensei," the Uzumaki called to the man.

The cyclops turned to see both female holding cleaning supplies and offering some to him. He smiled, grabbed his shared and the three silently cleaned the memorial stone. Once done they summoned some incense to offer a prayer to the fallen allies.

"Thanks for that," Kakashi said. "Not many young ones come here. Anyway, I am guessing you can here to ask for some training, correct?"

"You're partially right. I just came into possession of a tool that lets me build things in my home. Hence, I came to ask if you could provide assistance and advice on what a proper training room would need," Naruko explained and the Hatake shrugged.

"I see no problem in helping. I've been friends with Gai for enough years to pick up more than a few things."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(Hours later)

(Mid-day)

"Thank you for the help Kakashi-sensei. Between what I have now and the notes you gave I wouldn't have to worry about going to a gym so enough. Thought I'll probably have to farm more scrap and money before that," Naruko said while walking the jonin out.

"No problem. Though I have to say that those reality-bending tools of yours are something else. Not only were you able to destroy things and assemble new objects out of seemingly nothing but you could mold the very walls, wires, and pipes without damaging the building," Kakashi commented with a chuckle. "If you managed to pass my test our team will definitely have to come here to train."

"Thanks, maybe if this ninja thing doesn't work out, I can get into construction," the Uzumaki jokes.

"By the way its phrased," Benihime noted "Is it safe to assume you already know the genin that will be assigned to you, Kakashi-san?"

"Yes and no. A jonin teacher can be allowed to choose either one student or a full team. As I wanted to honor my sensei, I choose you however due to unique circumstances I was assigned Sasuke Uchiha as well. This resulted in my team now having _The Genin of the Year_ and _The Dead Last_ it is assured that I'll also be assigned _The Kunoichi of the Year_," the Hatake informed with a shrugged. This caused the Uzumaki to sigh in defeat.

"Great that means not only do I get DuckButt on my team but Sakura-chan as well. I feel sorry for betraying Ino-chan but I'll have to help get those two together if I have any hope of surviving working with them."

"What makes you think they wouldn't stab you in the back after they join forces?"

"Sasuke thinks he's the strongest there is and everyone is beneath him. I just have to beat his ass for him to acknowledge me. Sakura on the other hand maybe one of the smartest in class but she's still a simple-minded fangirl a lot of the time. I tell her that I'll help her get together with _The Last Uchiha_ and she's pretty much mine."

"That's… very manipulative of you Naruko-chan," the winged creature spoke with doubt. In response, the whiskered girl just shrugged.

"Probably and even I know it's a stupid idea. But no one ever said I was smart. Anyway, thanks again Kakashi-sensei and I hope you enjoyed the home-made lunch."

"It was edible. And from someone who has to learn to sustain himself with only ration bars it being edible is high praise. By the way, what are your plans for the rest of that day, if I may ask?"

"I'll go to the roof and build a greenhouse to see if I can start cultivating food and alchemy ingredients. After that, I'll watch some anime while a group of my clones reviews the class note Beni-chan took for me and do other tasks like making potions and the like. Shadow clones are really good for multitasking that way."

"Hehe, true but be careful with the memory sharing backlash. Even for you, it could be deadly."

"Don't worry, Jiji made sure to that bit of information was very well memorized by my puny brain. From now on, outside of battle, I'll always make a clone that serves as the memory relay. That way the backlash from multiple memories can be filtered out before it reaches me."

"Nice thinking with that one."

Then with one final good-bye for the day they parted to do their own thing.

* * *

**A/N:**

Sorry its a bit late. I was stuck last week in the hospital taking care of my mother. Don't worry, for now, everything is alright and we're just waiting for the doctors to release her. Also, I liked to thank everyone that has supported this fic since it now has a 156 more followers than my original story Valkyrie's Empire and just 4 fewer favorites. It makes all sorts of happy.

Thanks to this I'll going to say the next chapter is completed and will be posted next week and I'm already working on chapter 15.


	14. Just normal training

**Chapter 14: Just normal training**

[Naruko's Apartment]

(Sunday – late night)

Naruko clicked the pause button on her remote during the scene of Mustang's mini-skirt speech as she heard knocking on the door. Seeing the late hour put the girl on edge and she asked her fairy to investigate. Reason being that unless the person could easily detect chakra like say a Hyuga with their Byakugan or a well-trained sensor tye the fairy was for all intended porpuses invisible to everyone.

_'Now that I think about. Beni-chan could be extremely good for doing recognize missions. I've heard that there exists invisibility jutsu but those are rare and the people that can use them even more so. Yet for Beni-chan unseen is her appears to be her natural state. Better make a not to talk to her about this later,_' Naruko thought while getting ready to move if needed. Seconds later the door opened and Benihime came back with Kakashi and the Uzumaki relaxed.

"Kakashi-sensei? I know I'm cute but aren't I a little too young for a booty call?" Naruko asked as she got up from her couch.

"Haha, very funny," Kakashi snarked with a small glare. "Anyway, I came here because Sandaime-sama wishes to hire your services."

"Huh?" was the reaction of both females.

"You did say you were up to taking construction jobs, didn't you?" the cyclops asked back with his famous eye smile.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Ninja Academy Entrance]

(Monday - morning)

Currently Ino was waiting, like everyone else, at the entrance of the academy. Normally she would have been in the classroom waiting for class to start but teams of chunin weren't letting one into the school. They had also recently put a stage which overlooked the front yard. Hence there was good probably that they were going to give an important announcement.

"What do you think they're going to tell us, Shikamaru?" Choji Akimichi could be heard asking their childhood friend. The lazy bum in question just yawned as he kept resting on the shade the tree, they were under was giving them.

"With any luck, it's that schools out and we can go back home to sleep," the Nara heir wished.

"And it's because of comments like those that Aunty Yoshino threatens you with her frying pan," Ino snarked with a grin. These two could be damn annoying at times but they were family and she did love them. Shikamaru Nara just grumbled something about troublesome people but didn't fight the accusation.

"Good morning Ino-chan," Hinata's voice could be heard and the three turned to look.

"Good morning Hinata-chan," Ino greeted and gave the girl a welcoming hug. Then she stepped back, looking at her fellow princess and whistled. "Damn girl. Never took you for someone to accessories like this." In response, the Hyuga blushed but managed to puff-up a little to show off her new look. Said new look was Hinata wearing her blue chest armor minus the helmet, pauldron, and skirt. Over the armor, she wore an opened light lavender hoddie jacket with white sleeves that partially hid her fingerless gauntlets. Instead of the skirt, the Hyuga wore her regular navy blue pants with the greaves over them.

"I need to get used to wearing this armor so I decided to start now. Yesterday with Kurenai-sensei's help we put an order for chainmail and a pair of armored boots that match my armor's design," Hinata commented and looked at Ino's jewelry. "I see you're still wearing that circlet. It looks good on you."

"Thanks, I'm starting the new training with my parents but I still need this if I want to walk outside. If I don't I could end-up melting my brain and who knows how many others in the process."

"Since when are the two of you this buddy-buddy?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow. Hearing this Ino was about to answer when a voice spoke from the tree above them.

"You could say that after the training we got Friday it was bound to happen," Naruko said and everyone looked up to see the blonde hanging upside down from a branch.

"Okay, I have to ask," Ino started while glaring though there was no anger in her voice. "How are your shirt and boobs not dangling on your face?"

The boys and Hinata couldn't stop their eyes from wandering towards the Uzumaki's chest which was clad in a dark orange shirt. Understandably the three blushed at catching themselves but Ino was right. Naruko was standing upside down on the branch and the only things yielding to gravity were her hair which down a simple low ponytail and the girl's black pants which were slightly riding down.

"I'm using chakra to keep everything in place," the whiskered girl before cutting the flow of energy to her leather boots. One flip later she landed beside Choji without a problem. "The shirt was easy but my tits were a whole other ballgame. I had to practice by holding them in place with my hands first. After memorizing that feeling I tried to recreate that with my chakra." That information was all the hormones of the four pre-teens needed for them to quickly visualize a naked Naruko Uzumaki groping herself. Naruko burst out laughing as the four had nose bleeds of varying sizes. Though the Uzumaki's legendary dense skull stopped her from realizing Hinata's was the largest of them.

"I hate you," the Yamaka growled after recovering first.

"You just don't want to admit you think I'm hot," the Uzumaki chuckled. "By the way, do any of you know why everyone is out here?"

"Given what dad let slip yesterday I'm guessing it about what we talked to Hokage-sama in regards to our education," Ino told. This got the young shadow wielder's attention.

"What could have ever happened to you two that made you agree to go to the Hokage?" Shikamaru asked seriously. He might be trying to keep his clan's tradition of laziness but he would be damned if he didn't try to help his sister.

"Oh, that? Hinata-chan, Ino-chan and I were training together on Friday with Hinata-chan's teacher Kurenai-sensei. During the training, we were reviewing and Kurenai-sensei noticed some glaring gaps. Hence, she brought us to Jiji and we got grilled on what we thought we knew and didn't. After a bit of questioning, results were in: our education was worth less than crap," Naruko was quick to explain. Her two friends stared in awe at how easily the girl managed to make such a believable lie.

"That's an interesting story Uzumaki-san," a voice behind Choji was heard. The chubby boy jumped in surprise just as everyone else turned to see Shino Aburame walking into view from the cover of the tree.

"Oh, hello Shino-kun. You do know you didn't have to sneak into the conversation, right? We can all be friends here," Naruko greeted with a friendly smile.

"I was sitting beside this tree even before Akimichi-san, Nara-san and Yamanaka-san arrived," Shino commented with his regular neutral tone.

"But… But we've been here for at least 30 minutes," Choji noted with astonishment.

"Yes, that is correct."

…

…

…

Naruko couldn't take the awkwardness any longer and quickly pulled out a jar of honey as big as her head. Then she bowed while presenting the offering to the Aburame. "We are all very sorry for disrespecting you in such a manner Aburame-sama. Please accept this as a peace offering." As the blonde finished everyone there could _hear_ the buzzing coming from the boy. Funnily enough, they could all somehow tell it was the happy kind.

"My Queen will gladly accept the offering for her and her subjects," Shino said and took the pot of liquid gold. He then sealed it into a storage scroll for later.

Before any more talk could be made, they hear someone start speaking up on the stage.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(Moments before with the teachers)

"I still don't get why we need to do this. We could have easily informed our students in our classroom," Iruka grumbled as he got ready for his speech.

"Don't be like that Umino-san. It's just a regular announcement about the change in class schedule," Suzume said with a small smirk at her colleagues' expense.

"Which is why I said we didn't need to do it like this. Plus, the start is kind of mean," the scared chunin commented.

"Uzumaki-san was already contacted last night and this was her idea. She wanted everyone to still think she's a troublemaker," a voice of an ANBU was heard. This particular ANBU's mask was different from the standard white animal theme the others used. This mask was painted black with red highlights and in the shape of a dragon thus signaling that this person was the ANBU Commander. The Commander was dressed in the regular ANBU attire with a black overcoat.

"Fine. I'll do this," Iruka sighed after hearing Dragon speak. Thus, he quickly rose the steps onto the stage and called out for the academy's attention. Like always he had to use the **Demon Head Jutsu** to get everyone to shut up.

"Thank you, everyone," he started while thanking the voice amplification seals on the stage so everyone could hear him without yelling. "However, before I can start. Naruko Uzumaki please report to the Headmaster's office."

A yell of "Oh come on!" could be heard clearly over everyone's laughter as the girl in question started making her way into the school. Iruka once more had to get the student body's attention as the girl retreated.

"Now everyone I have very important news regarding your studies…"

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Ninja Academy - entrance hall]

"You always have the weirdest ideas Uzumaki-san," Dragon said as Naruko entered. The girl just laughed before shrugging and said…

"What can I say? It's a lot more believable for me to get busted for something than the teachers asking for my help. This way we also avoid the whole "But Sasuke-kun can do it better," shtick for him and his fans. Mostly his fans though since I don't think the guy can talk in anything more than grunts and glares."

"Misdirection and distraction have always been one of your strong suits," the Commander commented with a low chuckle.

"Yep," Naruko agreed with a grin.

Then both the adult and child popped into white smoke showing they had just been shadow-clones.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Ninja Academy - hallway]

(Moments later)

Iruka's graduating class was walking with him and a green haired Mizuki towards the training behind the school. The group was also flanked by the ANBU Commander and three other ANBU who would be the assistant with today's training. At the back Hinata and Ino were whispering to each other.

"While I don't like the fact that we now need to take more classes I can understand that. Still, I'm surprised Hokage-sama didn't nail to Headmaster to the wall," Ino complained as she remembered how Iruka had said the Headmaster was being investigated for "Misuse of school assets."

"They probably need more information to secure his sentencing," Hinata suggested with a shrug. The Yamanaka clicked her tongue at this.

"The guy actively sabotaged us and even papa said that with what they got now is enough to execute him for treason," the blonde informed.

"Maybe he has done a lot more and they want to keep him alive to confirm. However, what I want to know is where Naru-kun is? Iruka-sensei called her but that was just a clone that we were talking to," the bluenette said with a slight frown.

"You could tell?" At the surprise question, the Hyuga just pointed at her eyes.

"No armor, weapons or fairy," was all Hinata said.

"That's enough talking everyone," Iruka's voice could be heard saying. This was when the class noticed that they had finally reached the double-door leading to the training area.

"Okay, students listen up. Given that we want you to excel in your future we had some special shinobi work on improving our training ground. Now we'll have a dojo for weapons training, a proper pool for exercise and water combat, balancing poles to practice balance and fighting in unsteady surfaces, enhanced exercise equipment and we even got Training Puppets for more realistic battle practice." After informing the group this Iruka and the Commander opened the doors. Once opened the students entered to see they were now in a huge wooden dojo with training dummies and multiple racks filled with a variety of weapons. Then turning to their right, they noticed a glass wall and sliding door a fully stocked gym. For here they could see weights, treadmills, bikes, benches, gymnastic equipment, and even yoga mats.

However, before anyone could so much as a whistle in astonishment of the facility something crashed outside. Then they felt a huge and overbearing pressure which was followed by a small explosion. Already some of the weaker students were shaking while teachers and ANBU prepared for an attack. Next thing everyone knew the shōji (paper sliding door) was torn apart by something being thrown through them. The object landed roughly on the tatami mats and rolled a few feet towards them before stopping.

The adults gasped and some students screamed or fainted outright.

The reason for this being that what had been launched through the paper doors had been a body. The body of Naruko Uzumaki if one wanted to be more precise. Though the girl was barely recognizable as her face was covered in cuts, bruises, a black eye, and her blood. The girl's body wasn't faring any better as her clothing was shredded, ripped, cut, stabbed, covered in dirt and almost bathed in red. The entirety of the black jacket's left sleeve was gone showing the arm was bleeding from multiple cuts and hanging loose as it was dislocated. Half of the right leg of Naruko's pats was turned off which showed from the knee down the leg had been twisted backward. However, the turn source of horror was the fist-sized gaping hole on the Uzumaki's stomach which was oozing blood.

Neither Iruka or Hinata needs more a glace at the favorite blonde's state to move towards her. Regretfully a sudden pressure crashed down on them and brought them to their knees alongside everyone else. Even to his surprise, the ANBU Commander felt unable to move or even pick up his weapon due to the density of the chakra. The adults, and student who remained conscious, managed to lift their head just enough to see the pressure coming from a figure walking into the dojo.

The figure was feminine clad in dark navy armor which Hinata recognized was identical to the one she gained from her awakening. Another thing the people noticed of this female was that she could pass as Hinata's twin if not for the unnatural jet-black skin and cold glowing red eyes. Yet the most interesting thing about this person was the purple-black aura burning around her. Said aura flared harsher when someone tried to get up.

"I _***pant***_ really _***pant***_ hate you," Naruko spat out from her spot. Then with great effort, the Uzumaki managed to sit before groaning as she felt the hole in her stomach. "Fuck. Maybe I _***pant***_ shouldn't have _***coughs blood***_ used that last taunt."

Iruka and Hinata tried calling for the girl out the evil Hyuga clone seems to triple the pressure on them. In that single instance, it felt as if the very air had become a solid mass trying to strangle them from the inside. Then Naruko growled as they felt the pressure around them lift enough to breathe.

"Enough, you sadistic bitch! _***pant and coughs blood***_ Just let me get _***pant***_ up," the whiskered girl yelled while throwing her KI at the evil entity.

Next, to everyone's horror, they saw her roughly pop back in her dislocated shoulder. Inexplicably, for those watching, the act by itself was enough for the girl to regain full use of the limb which the Uzumaki used to grab her twisted leg. Naruko then gritted her teeth as hand hands took a firm grip and in one move turned the leg back into place. The sight of this act and the sound it made was enough for even one of the ANBU to lose their breakfast. Naruko on the other hand just got up to her feet seemingly not bothered by the darkening flesh. Then she pulled out a bottle with red liquid in it. After popping to cork out with her thumb the blonde down the drink in a single swing. Only Hinata's Byakugan could see how the liquid-filled the Uzumaki's body with healing mana which was powered up by the girl's red chakra. For everybody else what they saw was the hole in Naruko's stomach slowly growing muscle and flesh until it closed completely. The same thing happened with all other cuts or stab wounds and even the black eye resided enough for the whisked girl to see again from her left.

Still, the healing process visibly made the Uzumaki more tired than when she crashed landed in front of them. Nonetheless, Naruko spits blood and sweat while putting up her blue gauntlets at the ready. In response, the onyx skinned Hinata took her fighting stance and they started to circle one another. Halfway through the rotation, both females launched at each other with fists flying. For the students, it looked as if Naruko had suddenly grown two extra pairs of arms as she unleashes a near-infinite barrage of punches. To those that had fought and lost to her, they saw the whiskered girl having the upper-hand as the evil clone wasn't getting a single chance to attack. However, for those like Sasuke, Hinata and the adults it was another story as they could see the evil princess deflecting every punch thrown her way. Then dark Valkyrie threw a swift jab at Naruko's throat.

Naruko saw this and leaned to the side to avoid the attack. The punch managed to grace the side of her neck but at this point, the adrenaline had numbed the pain from glancing blows. Regretfully she should have seen the Valkyrie grabbing the back of her head so Naruko couldn't escape the knee to the stomach. Then, as Naruko tried to regain air, she was roughly flung to the side but with a quickly rolled she was back on her feet.

"WATCH OUT!" Hinata could be heard yelling as Naruko felt the air behind her being cut.

The blonde just smirked and stretched out her left arm in front of her. The paralyzed group could only stare in disbelief as the Gooper Scythe continued its trajectory of beheading the blonde. Then they lost their collective jaws as the weapon seemed to break every physical law as it spun in just the right way and velocity for its blade to just gently caressing Naruko's neck and hair without harm before the staff landed on the girl's opened palm. The whiskered girl then used her weapon to pull herself up and took a fighting stance. The dark clone responded in kind by summoning a naginata and getting ready.

"Kami, I hate you," a purple-eyed Naruko growled before smirking. "But I'm ending this now!" After the declaration five clones appeared in front of her much to the surprise of those watching. Then to further the surprise two jumped while the other three speared out before all of them yelled "**Death's Scythe**," and swinging their weapons. Everyone heard a sound similar to waves crashing onto rocks as five black rifts tore open around the Valkyrie. The evil Hinata and the space around her seem to warp and distort in on itself before it imploded leaving the silhouette of the creature. Regretfully for the clone once the darkness vanished the Valkyrie was still standing looking slightly annoyed. Then in a burst of speed, she was gone, all five clones got popped and Naruko found herself impaled through her left shoulder by the naginata.

The young girl screamed in pain and let go of the scythe as she was lifted off her feet. The dark clone then took a firm gripped of Naruko's arm and kicked her off the weapon. Even for the seasoned ANBU, getting to hear and seeing the small kunoichi getting her left arm ripped off in such a violent manner proved too much. For the students, they could only stare in complete horror as the girl slid to a halt in front of the original Hinata. The true heiress could only shake as tears flowed down her cheeks unto the bloody face of her crush.

"N-N-Naru-kun," Hinata whispered almost in denial of what she was seeing.

"Oh… Now I am **pissed,**" Naruko announced in possibly the calmest voice anyone has ever heard. Hinata for her part openly stared with her Byakugan to see the girl's chakra network become flooded with red energy. As the new chakra started to overtake everything else the Hyuga's eyes noticed how it _**burned**_ away almost any damage the Uzumaki hadn't heal before. It even stopped the blood flow to the blonde's stump of a left shoulder.

Then Naruko opened her eyes to show solid blood-red orbs with slit iris.

"**Sorry you had to see this princess,**" the blonde said softly through her demonic voice. Truth be told, not since her mother died, had a voice ever made Hinata feel so secured and calmed. "**I'll make sure to finish this and then we can train together,**" Naruko promised as her body was slowly being engulfed with a red aura. Then, apparently ignoring the pain of missing an arm, stood up without a problem as her hair started whipping itself into nine tails. Everyone stared in awe, slight jealousy, and fear as the blonde's power created a pressure equal to the onyx skinned enemy thought it seem to be protecting them instead of hurting. In-kind the dark Valkyrie's tainted aura flared before she disappeared and faster than anyone could they could blink reappeared with weapon mid-thrust towards the Uzumaki's neck. In response, Naruko just grabbed the naginata by the shaft and completely stopped the armored figure's movement.

"**I'm going to need that arm back.**" Seven words. Those seven words were all the warning the being got before it found itself bent over Naruko's shoulder due to an uppercut to the stomach. The being registered the impact but didn't feel pain so the creature responded by trying to stab at the Uzumaki's back. The following uppercut that smashed it head-first into the ceiling put a stop to that.

'_How?!_' Sasuke asked himself again and again as he along with the still conscious students looked at the supposed Dead Last. '_Just how did she get this strong? How is it possible for her to just stand after that much damage?!_' His mind simply couldn't comprehend how a girl, no, a person could still have that much will to keep going. From the moment the girl had crashed in front of them through those doors Sasuke had thought she had been killed. How could you blame him? Back during the night of the massacre, he saw multiple corpses in pools of their blood with a fraction of the damage. Yet here was a girl that everyone falsely presumed was weak and a waste of time simply pop or twist things back into place before healing everything else so she could keep fighting.

Now to top it off she lost her fucking arm and all that did was give her a second heroic wind?

'_What is happening?!_' Sasuke screamed to himself after the girl uppercut the monster into the ceiling. Then Naruko vanished and materialized next to her missing arm which she gently picked up. "What the hell?" he and everyone else thought when they shoved it back into her shoulder. Naruko for her part was almost working on instinct right now. The anger she felt was blinding and only held at bay by the **Gamer Mind** ability. She thanked it greatly because without it she would have lost control by now. That, however, didn't stop her from seeing the glitched red windows with black text. The most prominent one floating over her discarded arm which she had picked up.

[̷̝̱̫̀̀Ţ̵̹͐h̷̨̻̅̊i̶̞̮̯͗ș̸̨͝ ̸̒͊ͅì̷̱̤̬s̶̡͉̈́͜ ̵̪̑y̴̞͂̃o̶͝ͅu̶̦̻͍͝ṙ̷̡̞̠̆̑ ̶̞̱̺̍m̴̼̃̓͝i̵̡͚̱͑̽ŝ̵̡͎̣s̶̢̗̃̈́͘i̷͔͎̓̚ń̷͖̩͍͆́g̷̥̋̇͋ ̵̗̒͑̚ȃ̷̧ř̴̬̪̪̉m̶̬̞͆̃͌.̴̨̞͉́ ̶͖͍̈̚̚D̷̳͈̎ő̵̝̃̌ ̸͙̌̿͘y̷͚̽̉o̸̫͛͛u̵̪̼̚͠ ̵̦̥̚w̴̧̋̕͝i̵̧͍͌̐s̵̜̓̉ͅh̴̨̲̱͌ ̷͍̜̺̑̽̃ț̵̛̒ō̵̮̯̆̈́ ̴̞̑̎r̶͎̱͉̎̀e̴̮̍̀̐a̷͓͓͓̽̾̐ṯ̶͉̇̿̚t̵̟̏͘a̷̛͎͉͉̒́ć̶͕̱h̷̜̝̺͐̐͝ ̵̗͗a̶̙̾̏͋n̵̼͐̚ḍ̸͙̭͘ ̷͍̳͈̃͂ḧ̴͕̝̄e̴̗̠̿̈́a̵̠̿̾͑l̸̝̜͋ ̴̣̮́̓i̵̩̦̔͛ṭ̷͖̘̌̄̕?̴̛̜͛̊]̸͙͉̻͆̑

Naruko still couldn't make out what the window said but she somehow knew what it asked her. Thus, the Uzumaki shoved back in the missing arm and a level of pain she had never thought possible exploded from the area. Thankfully the adrenaline and need to finish that evil doll help her stop the scream with her gritted teeth and a growl. Then to Naruko's surprise and the audience horror, the red chakra began to enter the wound. This was followed by a red fire erupting from the wound and scorching the limb back into place. In mere seconds the arm started to convulse before it shooting straight out to her side and called back her scythe. As the Uzumaki caught the weapon she gave it a small spin that deflected the incoming stab from the marionette's naginata. After slamming the blade of the naginata on the ground Naruko followed by kicking the doll's face in with enough force to send it flying. It recovered quickly by flipping midair, landing on its feet and sliding a couple of feet before stopping in front of the students. However, now its face was cracked and flaking off its wooden featureless face underneath its onyx skin.

"**Those three were for the 30 minutes of torture you have put me through. You stupid defective doll,**" Naruko announced with a glare as she spun the scythe again before resting it on her shoulder. "**The next one will be for punching me through the gut.**" As the final word existed her mouth so did the whiskered girl from people's eyes only the enter back from behind the doll. The Hinata puppet responded by trying to jump forward but found its path block by the see-through blade of the scythe pressed around its midsection. The doll was about to turn around before it felt Naruko's foot on its upper back while the scythe dug into its skin. One kick and pull later the doll found itself flying through the air without its lower half. However, since it did not feel pain, the creature easily maneuvered what remained of its body to land on its hand. "**Hold on to this for me Hime-sama,**" Naruko said after gently moving the scythe's blade away from between her legs. It took a couple of seconds for Hinata to process that her crush was talking to her.

"Okay?" Hinata said with doubt before the slime theme weapon landed on her hands. Naruko then picked up the discarded wooden legs and to the horror of the men, and women, the blonde pulled them apart until the wood joining them was ripped apart.

"**This little training dummy,**" the angered jinchuriki started "**is for my arm.**" After saying this she dashed towards the legless puppet while brandishing its split lower half as weapons.

What followed next could only be described as pure, uncontrolled, deadly and unforgiving violence as Naruko utterly trashed her enemy. Be it smacking, bashing, smashing or just plain beating the enraged Uzumaki attacked and attacked the doll with a reckless fury that it could not defend against. Then when the wooden legs finally splintered Naruko just threw them away in favor of her hands to punch and claw away the black skin of the one imposing enemy. She did not even try to stop when her knuckles started feeling wet.

Seeing the usually cheerful and hyperactive blonde give into her rage to use this level of violence was… eye-opening.

"That's enough," a gentle yet firm voice finally rang out through the dojo after what felt like hours. Everyone blinked in confusion and did a double-take when they saw Hinata kneeling alongside Naruko and tenderly holding back the whiskered girl's clawed hand. While the others asked themselves when the bluenette had moved she just started at orb clouded by blood rage. Then she whispered…

"That is enough Naru-kun. You've won a long time ago and this right now is just violence for violence's sake. So, please. Either walk away or finish it now because whatever the red chakra of yours is it's slowly destroying your body from the inside."

As Naruko looked at Hinata a part of her, the part that revealed in the violence, wanted to yell at the Hyuga. It wanted to scream at the girl to let go for nothing would stop it from enjoying the kill. But most of all it wanted to consume the weak and pathetic child stopping her so that then the girl could feel what it's like to be part of something greater. However, the part of the Uzumaki that could still think like a reasonable human instead of a beast grabbed onto Hinata's hand and words like a lifeline. Then feeling a kind squeeze in return this side pulled back to the surface as the red mist was pushed back.

Moments later twin blue eyes were staring at content lavender eyes.

Seeing the opening the puppet lifted its arm and-

Naruko quickly smashed her left fist through its torso and shattered the chakra core powering the marionette. Hinata stare had a slightly disapproving look and the whiskered girl could only give a small chuckle.

"**What? You said I co**uld finish it," Naruko commented as she powered down. No sooner had the red aura dissipated did she lose complete control of her body. The first thing that went was her balance as she leaned towards Hinata. Next was the blonde's hearing and smell as her eyes started to close. "Oh wow… I'm tired… I… maybe… doll… defect- zzzZZZ…"

Hinata blinked before activating her Byakugan and sighing in relief. While the snoring was enough indication the small kunoichi was alright for now the eye showed the girl was slowly healing her body.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Ninja Academy - Infermary]

When Naruko woke up the first thing she felt was the need to fall back asleep. She didn't just feel tired, oh no, her entire body begged for rest as it was exhausted beyond any possible reason. Not to mention that while it didn't hurt just opening her eyelids took the same concentrated effort lifting a boulder. Thankfully she could breathe without a problem which was a relief after the feeling her rips crushing her lungs due to a particularly nasty kick she wasn't able to dodge in time.

"You're awake! Thank goodness," a tired-looking Benihime sighed happily while floating over the Uzumaki. "I had used an **OmniHeal** spell to finally stop your body from killing itself. That, however, didn't help much with your _Chakra Poisoning_ from using too much of the Kyubi's chakra. Huh? Oh, don't force yourself to talk Naruko-chan! Here, let me open a chant window. Just think and it will be written there."

After the fairy said this an empty textbox appeared in front of the tiered blonde.

[Testing?... Testing?... Huh? Cool, it makes my voice sound like a robot,] Naruko's textbox wrote. The girl then sighed and slowly looked around before closing her tired eyes. [This looks like the school's infirmary. Who brought me here?]

"Hinata-chan did. Carried you like a princess and everything."

[O_o! ! !]

[-/ / /-]

[Not going to lie, that makes me a bit happy,] the Uzumaki's said. The fairy, on the other hand, chuckled as she saw a change of expressions on Naruko's profile picture. [By the way, what is chakra poisoning, anyway? That's the first time I've ever heard of it.]

"It's something that happens when large amounts of foreign chakra invade a person's body. This can be fatal to many but you being a jinchuriki makes it easier for your body to process this chakra. Regretfully the system chose to represent this process by locking an amount of chakra based on the amount of foreign chakra in your system."

[Okay. I hate it but it's understandable. How much MP do I currently have access to?]

"Just 10MP."

***Very loud and ear bleeding electronic screech***

"Ouch! Don't scream like that! The chat can't produce such loud a volume without breaking," Benihime begged.

[-_-|||]

[Sorry about that Beni-chan. Still, how in the hell do I have so little? I didn't use that much power… Did I?]

"While I was sealed in your inventory due to the trail, I could still see what was going on. You fought that malfunctioning Training Puppet for 30 full minutes while using your chakra for both attacking and healing. You even started forcing the healing process to the point it evolved into its separate skill! I'm not surprised that by the time you started using Kyubi's chakra to funnel more MP your network was already at its limit. Thankfully you regain access to 1MP every 5 minutes while you're awake. Though if your sleeping it's 1MP every minute."

[So, I've been asleep for just 10 minutes then? I thought it would have been longer.]

"Try 2 hours my friend. When you got here your MP was in the negatives and it was slowly eating away at you HP. Thankfully the trial rewards helped tremendously in keeping you alive."

[Wait, what rewards? I don't remember ever undergoing or accepting any trial,] Naruko asked as she didn't remember a quest. Then again after she had been more focused on surviving than anything else.

"Take a look. I'm sure you'll love it," Benihime announced and helped her mistress open the quest reward window.

* * *

**~ Trial Completed! ~**

**[Trial: Cruel Melee – The Valkyrie]**

[Condition: Survive the Valkyrie's assault for 5 minutes. **(COMPLETED)**]

[Hidden Condition #1: Survive assault for 10 minutes. **(COMPLETED)**]

[Hidden Condition #2: Survive assault for 20 minutes. **(COMPLETED)**]

[Hidden Condition #3: Survive assault for 30 minutes. **(COMPLETED)**]

[Hidden Condition #4: Lower Valkyrie's HP to 50% **(COMPLETED)**]

[Hidden Condition #5: Defeat the Valkyrie **(COMPLETED)**]

[Reward: Learned passive skill **Unyielding Soul**]

[Hidden Reward #1: A permanent increase of 50HP]

[Hidden Reward #2: A permanent increase of 150HP]

[Hidden Reward #3: A permanent increase of 300HP]

[Hidden Reward #4: A permanent increase of 600HP and +10PER]

[Hidden Reward #5: A permanent increase of 1200HP and +5AP]

[Player's max HP is 2390 which has passed the 2000pts mark. Conditions to unlock passive skill **Descendant of Asura** have been met.]

[The player has forcibly enhanced their natural healing factor through chakra for an extended period of time. New skill **Healing Factor** has been created!]

[The player has endured a great deal of pain but kept fighting. New skill **Pain Tolerance** has been created!]

**{SKILLS}**

**[Passive]** **Unyielding Soul**

**Description** – In life and battle when everything is at its bleakest and death offers the final embrace of rest you refuse. Giving up is not an option for one who denies the prospect of abandoning those in their time of need. Valhalla's halls will have to wait a while more for your glorious entrance.

If the player's HP becomes zero, they will regain 1HP immediately. (**Only once per day.**)

**[Passive]** **Descendant of Asura****(**INCOMPLETE**)**

**Description** – A skill unique to only the members of the Uzumaki and Senju clans. Due to being descendants of Asura one of the two sons of **[Redacted]**, they have a uniquely strong lifeforce. Due to this, they have been known to live for far longer than others... [Player has not met requirements to fully unlock this skill.]

Player gains 4VIT per level up

Player gains +100HP on each level up

? ? ?

**[Passive] ****Pain Tolerance**

**Description** \- Through great suffering and endurance you have trained your body to withstand the punishment and keep going.

Lv1 +5% chance of not flinching

Lv2 +5% chance of not being knocked back

Lv3 +15% chance of not flinching

Lv4 +10% chance of not being knocked back

Lv 5 +25% chance of not flinching

**[Active] ****Healing Factor**

**Description** – Through great suffering and endurance you have trained your body to heal itself even amidst the battlefield. Now by sacrificing your mana, you can heal your body at will.

**MP Cost**: 25MP per second

+5HP regen each second it's active

Scars only happen from Fatal Blows

Attaching **[Severed]** limbs cost 1500 MP (if not destroyed)

Closing opened wounds cost 1000 MP

Healing **[Broken]** limbs/bones cost 500 MP

Healing **[Dislocated]** limbs cost 250 MP

Healing **[Twisted/sprained]** limbs cost 125 MP

* * *

[Wow, that's a lot. Though the healing skill does explain how I managed to put my arm back on. I thought that was just me using the red chakra. Still, it doesn't say I can regenerate a limb, any organ or head if decapitated. Guess I still have to watch out for those fatal blows.]

"Please do. I don't want you to die," Benihime begged while hugging her friend's neck.

[I won't. Though now I'm worried about how I'm going to move since my body feels like it weighs a ton.]

"That's more than likely a side effect of the chakra poisoning. After Hinata, Iruka and the ANBU put you in bed I asked them to leave so I could heal you and scan your body for any other problems. It seems that we can transfer that chakra outside your body but we'll need a strong enough container and someone that can help you guide the chakra there. For the container, we can use the Chakra Crystal you won from killing the Roach Empress. As for the guide, Hinata-chan can fill in the role perfectly thanks to her Byakugan. Oh, and the reason we didn't do this while you were asleep is that it would be best for you to be conscious during the process. That way you can say what is too painful. The process, if do right, shouldn't cause discomfort or pain so your warnings will be needed."

[Okay but how do I contact her? Are you going to fly towards Hinata-chan? Because I can't move at the moment.]

"Hinata-chan is part of your friends' list so you'll be able to talk to her through the chat by way of Messenger so long as you're both inside a safe zone like this village. You should also include Iruka-sensei and Ino-chan so they don't have to worry and are in the loop."

Naruko followed the instructions for sending the message to her friends. After that, she rested back on the bed and waited for help to come.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Ninja Academy - Training Ground]

Hinata had carried the small Uzumaki and after innocently feeling the muscles the girl building from using a scythe, Benihime had asked her to return to class. The Hyuga had protested along with Iruka-sensei but the fairy told them that at this point there wasn't much they could do. Plus, the children would have a lot of questions and worries after seeing their classmates fighting for her life. Understanding that the teacher had relented but didn't like it. Hence before leaving with a protesting Hinata, he asked to put a group of ANBU to protect the girl.

After this, they meet back with the group that, as the living manual had predicted, assaulted the teacher with questions. Like one would expect he told them that "Yes, Naruko is alright. She just needs some rest. No, she isn't immortal or a monster. She just developed an incredibly strong healing factor. No, I don't know if it's a bloodline. No, you can't visit her now," and so on. Next came answers from the ANBU Commander who, with a team, had been examining the remains of the destroyed training puppet and the others that hadn't been activated.

"From what we can tell right now the puppets' inner difficulty dial has been severely damaged. Due to this, they were stuck in their highest difficulty which some back at headquarters has jokingly but justifying dubbed Ultra-Nightmare mode. Regretfully as the inner part of the dial was damaged it would have been impossible for Uzumaki-san to figure this out without dismantling them while in possession of their schematics. Therefore, when she turned one on to test it as part of her punishment, she couldn't have known the puppet was set to deal fatal damage. Don't know if it makes her lucky or not but the only reason why she managed to survive and win was because of her strong healing abilities. Probably used them to the extreme given what we saw her heal. Still, this event is very concerning. These puppets are made by master craftsmen from Suna. They are built to take punishment given out by season Jonin so a tiny angry academy student should not have been a problem. About the only reason, we can see for them to be this damage is because they were never given proper maintenance and, given the amount of dust covering the deactivated ones, they were also stored incorrectly," the ANBU Commander and his techs had explained.

After this, and to put the students' minds at ease, the adults announced they would be testing the class physical abilities for the rest of the day without the dolls. And tests they did as the students were made to run, jump, climb and workout to see their limits. Many casualties were had that morning, especially among the Sasuke Fanclub, as students couldn't complete the goals set out from them. To the surprise of the boys that had quit three girls remained.

The first being Hinata Hyuga who seemed to be tied with Kiba and Sasuke for the least tired looking in class. Though the adults looked harder and could tell that she had a little less sweat than either of the boys and that Sasuke was panting just a bit more than the other two. The second was Ino Yamanaka who while covered in sweat and breathing hard was still standing tall and proud of herself. Many of the boys couldn't stop their eyes from wandering due to how stunning and powerful the purple kunoichi suddenly looked. And finally, there was Sakura Haruno who looked like the only thing keeping her from falling over and dying was pure hatred. Seriously, the power behind the glare she was throwing Ino could probably melt the sun. Ino for her part had just smirked victoriously back.

After the workout, the students were given ten minutes to rest before they would start weapons practice. Ino had given Hinata a knowing smirked at this which was reciprocated with a gentle smile. Sure, they only started learning to use their weapons but unlike their classmates, they had learned through actual battle. Thus, the two had a good head start over the others and would be able to show it. For the weapons training, the students were asked to first choose a wooden version of the tool they wished to learn. Many of the students chose familiar things like katanas, ninjato or daggers. It was somewhat disappointing that even Sasuke selected a common weapon like the ninjato. However, the girls did notice that unlike most of their classmates he did take the time to think and analyze the multitude of options before making his choice instead of going for what looked cool.

Shikamaru, much to Ino's annoyance, just grabbed a wooden dagger saying it's the same as kunai and it wouldn't be as troublesome as learning a new style. Choji almost followed his friend by choosing a bō staff like many Akamichi when he stopped and grabbed a mallet as tall as he was saying "It feels right," with a shy grin that made the girls chuckle with him. Next came Kiba would put on a pair of clawed gauntlets with a vicious grin. When asked he simply explained that it was a natural extension of his family's fighting style. Shino was next and much like Sasuke analyzed the wide variety of instruments before grabbing a Kusarigama (chain-sickle or sickle with iron ball).

However, it was Sakura's choice that surprised everyone.

"What?" Sakura asked once she noticed everyone looking at her. Ino was the first to react.

"Forehead, put that thing down before you hurt someone," the Yamanaka ordered with a frown. In response, the pink Haruno smirked.

"Why? _***grunt* **_Afraid I'll one up _***pant***_ that wimpy rope of yours, Piggy?"

"You can barely lift that axe!" Everyone watching was in agreement with Ino's comments as they could see Sakura struggling. After noticing that Sasuke had looked at the Yamanaka's whip and Hyuga's naginata with some brief interest the pinkette felt she was losing ground and had gone for the most unusual weapon she could see. This ended with her grabbing a wooden battle axe that was as tall as her with a very heavy crescent moon that extended halfway down the weapon. Regretfully for Sakura once she pulled it from the rack it almost brought her down with. After this, the emerald eye girl had to use both of her arms to lift a giant piece of wood off the ground and it showed the action took almost everything the girl could give.

"I _***grits teeth***_ can lift _***struggles to pull up***_ it! I just have to _***almost falls face-first on the ground***_ put my back into it," Sakura grunted out as she tried out to fight gravity.

"Oh, for the love of," Ino muttered while rolling her eyes. She then walked over to her rival and with just a light stomp disarmed to pinkette who instantly became enraged.

"What the f-" Sakura started to scream at the top of her lungs but stopped. Reason being Ino's glare and silencing finger. That, however, didn't stop Haruno's murderous glare as the Yamanaka went to the weapon ranks and picked up a hatchet which she handed to the now confused pink-haired girl.

"Here, Billboard Brow. If you're so intent on using an axe you better start with one you can at least lift and use before trying to one-up me. As you so eloquently put it," the heiress said like a mother lecturing her child. The peasant huffed angrily but accepted the smaller weapon.

"Fine! But mock my words, Ino Yamanaka. I'll learn to use axes to the extent that I'll be able to cut that stupid rope of yours midair no matter the size of my axe," Sakura declared to her rival who smirked in return.

"This so-called rope is a _whip_, Sakura Haruno. But sure, I'll take you up on the challenge," Ino said before extending her hand out. "In fact, if and only _IF_ you managed to cut my whip mid-attack with any type of axe I, on my honor as the Yamanaka heiress, will give up on pursuing Sasuke-kun as a potential boyfriend, lover or husband. Thus, you will not have me as another potential love rival." Upon hearing this the class and fan club gasped in surprise. While many of the non-clan students didn't understand the weight of an honor bond pledge they did have a romanticized idea of its importance. The ones that did belong to a clan, however, knew just how serious this bet was being taken. Ino was finally taking the gloves off and view Sakura as a genuine rival. The line had finally been drawn in the sand and this bet would decide who was the victor.

"I, Sakura Haruno, gracefully accept your terms, Ino Yamanaka, chosen heiress of the Yamanaka Clan," Sakura answered as she shook Ino's hand. While the pinkette wasn't part of any clan she had at least studied multiple subjects. Given her dream of marrying Sasuke, one of those subjects was clan ethics and laws hence why she knew the weight placed on this challenge. She would not dishonor the standing of whoever would be the next Uchiha Matriarch.

All of these events had been around two hours ago. Now the students have been separated into teams to learn how to use and practice the basics of their chosen weapons.

Currently, Hinata found herself practicing thrusting a wooden spear into a training dummy. It was only thanks to the Hyuga's martial arts training that this repeated motion hadn't killed her arms yet. Then she got a small surprise as a small letter popped into existence in front of her. The letter also had a small sleeping fox as a seal and the floating letters on top of it show that it was a message from Naruko. Looking around with her Byakugan, Hinata noticed that both Ino and Iruka had gotten one. Hence she opened it and read the request for help. After finishing the letter the Hyuga walked towards her teacher. The man, knowing what it was for, easily excused her and Hinata quickly walked towards the infirmary. Once there the ANBU guarding the door appeared and used an unknown, to Hinata, jutsu to scan her. After this is a small call to Iruka the two guards let the Hyuga in.

Inside the infirmary, Hinata found a sight that truly scared her and brought memories of her mother's last days. As Hinata saw Naruko she almost sprinted to the girl's side. It was true the Uzumaki was breathing but death was almost a perfect description of the blonde. Naruko's normally tanned skin had become so pale it looked like she had taken a dip in white paint and then let said paint dry. Naruko also had dark bags under her eyes while sickly black veins covered her body. Adding to this, the girl's normally brilliant golding hair had lost its luster.

"Hey, Hinata-chan. We might need your help more than I suspected," Benihime said as she floated over the sick looking student.

"What do you need?" Hinata asked with Byakugan already activated. Thanks to this she was able to see the red chakra slowly damaging her crush's body.

"Dose your Gentle Fist work by extracting people chakra or sealing their ability to use it?" The fairy's question was answered by affirming the second statement. "Okay, so can it be used to control the trajectory of a person's chakra?"

"If they are molding it at the moment it could, in theory, be possible. However, I don't think people in my clan have bothered to test it in battle," Hinata answered and then thought. "Given how the Juken works the process could be painful and the control would need to be precise so as not completely destroy a person's chakra network. Plus, given how Naruko's clothes and armor are coated in her chakra, this could be even more difficult."

"I see," was all Benihime said with this information. Next thing Hinata knew a low light vanished Naruko's clothes and armor. Thus, leaving the Uzumaki in nothing but a pair of orange panties and a bra. If the girl didn't look so sick Hinata would have died from a bleed loss at this very moment. "I managed to unequip almost everything on her. Will this help?"

'_Help me see that delectable body,_' a distracting part of her giggled. Thankfully she managed to knock-out that part with a metal bat. "Y-Y-Yes, touch her skin. I MEAN MOVE THE CHAKRA!" Benihime chuckled at the girl's slip but said nothing. Then she took out the chakra crystal which could easily be mistaken for a formation of quartz about the size of an adult male's hand. They also were completely clear and registered as empty. The fairy then placed it on Naruko's right palm.

"Naruko, wake up… Hey! Wake up!" the Navi called out while lightly tapping the girl's face. Tired blue eyes opened up and looked.

[Hey… are we… doing this?] Naruko's chatbox wrote/said to them.

"Yeah," Benihime answered. "Hinata will start from your arms and make her way through. Try to see if you can mold chakra-"

[I can't… it feels… heavy.]

"D-D-Don't, Naru-kun. I can do it myself," Hinata declared through her love-induced shyness. "But please s-s-say anything if it hurts." Naruko gave a small nod before taking a breath to ready herself. "Benihime-chan, I imagine you wish for me to move the chakra into the crystal, correct?"

"Yes, it would be preferable and since the crystal is empty it should have enough space to store the red chakra."

Hinata nodded and took a calming breath before looking over the girl's network again. The normal blue hue of chakra was almost totally eclipsed by an angry red that was slowly eating it away. Gently the Hyuga placed two fingers on the sickly Uzumaki's right wrist as it was the closest to the crystal. She then tried to strike with her chakra only to pull back as the red energy bit the tips of her fingers with enough to draw a few drops of blood. This did not stop her however as she placed her fingers back. The difference this time was that instead of attacking like normal Hinata slowly fed her chakra into Naruko's wrist. The red chakra still fought her but not as violently. Instead of biting the red just pushed back which forced Hinata to refine the shape of her chakra to something resembling a shovel. It took some time, and Naruko groaning, but Hinata managed to cut into the red mass. Regretfully the moment she tried to push the chakra she found she simply couldn't move. It felt like trying to push a solid cement wall no matter how much her fingers push.

"What's wrong?" Benihime asked as she saw the Hyuga struggling.

"It's the red chakra. It's like a solid mass and it's not letting me push back," Hinata responded with a frown.

[Why not _***pant***_ try the whole _***groan***_ hand?]

"It d-d-doesn't work like that. I could cause too much damage."

"Actually," the fairy started while thinking out loud "Maybe using not only all of your fingers but both hands could be what we need."

"What do you mean?"

"You said the chakra feels solid, correct? Then trying to think of it as clay used by artists to create figures. Sure you can use only one hand to finish the job but its much quicker to use two. Plus to this, you can add in the idea that you're giving Naruko-chan a massage. And professional masseuse normally uses both hands to apply different or equal amounts of pressure in the area they're working in for maximum effect." Hinata heard this and had her doubts. However, two things convinced her to follow through with this. The first being that she wanted to keep testing the limits of her ability now that she threw away the old and elitist doctrine of her clan. The second and more important one was that Naru-kun needed her. Thus Hinata gently grabbed Naruko's wrist again but with both hands and slowly started to dig in her energy before massaging.

The effect was almost immediate as the Uzumaki's hand clutched the crystal. The girl also groaned but Hinata ignored it as she slowly started moving her fingers. Thanks to her Awaked-Byakugan she was able to see the flow of the chakra far easier than normal and could control all of the "shovels" and their directions. To the Hyuga's surprise, just like her friends suggested, using multiple points of attack helped in defeating the red foe. It made her feel a little silly for forgetting the simple and effective rule of "Divide and conquer" but the concentration need to keep going didn't let her curse her family's old teachings. Thus, she continued pushing the chakra that felt like drying clay instead of solid brick. While in reality the task only took a minute or two the process itself felt eternal. The concentration, force and pure will need to just push a hand's worth of chakra was insane. Never before that Hinata ever worked her abilities with such precision and effort. Yet the heiress had managed to do something she never thought possible and that fact brought a feeling that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Pride.

Even as the red chakra was slowly filling back the hand, Hinata felt proud of herself. She had done it! She had successfully diminished the amount of poison in her crush without causing harm to the blonde. This small act alone filled Hinata without more self-worth and validation than ever before and it made her swear she would not fail Naruko. Thus, she took hold a little higher on the Uzumaki's arm and started working again. The process of moving and molding someone else's energy was still a new experience for Hinata hence it still took time. However, the density of the red chakra ultimately served to help her as it was easier to grasp. Therefore the lavender-eye girl's energy could hold onto her target was her fingers traveled over the whiskered girl's flesh. Speaking of the Uzumaki, Hinata took a moment to look at her face.

Naruko was still deadly pale but some color was coming back. Sure it was just a blush, probably from exhaustion, but it was better than a sickly white. Therefore Hinata continued her efforts as Naruko started to pant, groan and moan. With vigor, the Hyuga's fingers poked, pushed, slid, walked and dance over the Uzumaki's skin with delicate precision. Hinata made sure she could empty the right arm faster then it could be filled by red instead of blue. With that limb done, next came the working through Naruko's upper torso which meant Hinata would have to touch the girl's chest. The Hyuga gulped nervously.

'_It's okay Hinata,_' she told herself '_Those are just a pair of soft, ample and __***gulp***__ enticing breasts. A-A-And you have boobs t-t-to and y-y-you're both girls! Yeah! There's n-n-nothing bad about me t-t-touching._'

Again Hinata shallowed her nervousness and started working. Naruko could be heard sucking in air through her teeth from the delicate touch but did not fight it. Hence the princess kept working to extract the red chakra even if it meant her fingers dancing over her crush's upper valley. Thankfully Hinata managed to retain enough concentration to not affect the third of the eight major chakra clusters on the human body. Yet she could help but marvel how those two mounds of flesh reacted to her touch. They just felt soft and so inviting that Hinata had to remind herself multiple times to not just grab those twins to see how they would look while being squeezed. Thankfully she managed to fight those thoughts long enough to form a path that she could use to move the chakra blonde's necks and head.

Once Hinata placed her fingers on Naruko's neck the girl whimpered and tried to move away. The princess was quick to hold the smaller girl's chin and slowly moved her fingers over the neck as its ower gasped out an "_~Aaah~_" of surprise, Hinata's innocent mind imagined. Still, this wasn't a deterrent for the Valkyrie as she carefully worked her way down the girl's neck, chest, and arm back towards the crystal. Again she was careful not to disturb either of the two chakra clusters on the Uzumaki's brain. Something she once more had to repeat herself multiple times ounce she got to Naruko's lips. They were already gain back their natural color and part of Hinata wanted to taste them. She had heard many rumors going around that given that Naruko seemed to only survive a ramen a kiss from her would taste the same as a ramen bowl.

'_Enough, Hinata!_' the princess berated herself. _'Stop trying to kiss the girl while she can't move. She'll think you're a creep. So that means I can try when she moves? S-S-SHUT UP!'_

Hinata, for the sake of her sanity, threw that second voice into a wall head-first to silence it before she started working on the whiskered girl's left arm. The same arm that had been ripped off and reattached not two hours ago. Even with her Byakugan showing the limb perfectly in place Hinata still couldn't believe it was working as intended. Hence she was more gentle on this arm even if it made Naruko squirm or groan more. Hinata sighed as she turns off her eyes after finishing most of the upper half of the Uzumaki. Much like her patient she was panting with exhaustion and covered in sweat. Hence the Valkyrie wiped the sweat away from her forehead before she decided to take off her jacket and armor so she was now in her navy blue shirt, pants and ninja sandals.

"Here," Benihime said while offering a bottle full of a blue liquid. "It's a mana potion the girls back home finished brewing a while back. It should restore some on the reserves you've used."

"Thank you," Hinata said while grabbing the bottle that was taller than the fairy. After that, she opened it the bluenette down the drink. The sudden rush of energy that exploded inside her was unreal yet it somehow felt controlled at the same time. Feeling rejuvenated Hinata gave a soft grin and got back her work.

Now having a better grasp of the process, Hinata easily pressed fingers on Naruko's abdomen which strangely enough had a tattoo that seemed to be the epicenter of the red chakra. No sooner had she used her Juken did the Uzumaki gasped and arched her spine while her toes curled. For a moment Hinata thought she had done something wrong. However, a grinning Benihime told the Hyuga she was doing everything right and she should definitely continue doing so. The bluenette had her doubts but trusting the fairy she continued helping her dear friend. As she suspected this area proved to be the most difficult due to a large amount of red energy coming from inside the seal. For a moment Hinata thought of doing something about the seal but not knowing what it was or why Naruko had it stopped such thoughts.

'_I could end up doing even more damage than the red chakra. Somehow this seal is more integrate into Naru-kun's network than even the __**Bird Seal **__is with the Side-Branch members. Plus it's also helping convert someone of the red chakra into its normal blue hue thought avidly at a slow pace compared to the crystal._' Hinata analyzed as she kept working. Regretfully this part of the process took more time due to the amount of movement and noise Naruko was making. At first, Hinata had thought maybe she had been applying too much pressure with her fingers so she lessens her push. Immediately two things became apparent: (1) the red chakra became far to difficult to move and (2) Naruko's entire body because as tense as a wire about to snap.

Seeing this Hinata returned to using her previous level of force. The reapplying of said pressure then cause the whiskered girl to release a very loud and long "_~Ooooh~_" as her body relaxed. Next, the Hyuga tried to use different levels of speed while her hands traveled the Uzumaki's body. Yet no matter which speed she used to move from the seal to the crystal Naruko would move, buckle or squirm alongside gasps, whimpers, grounds or the odd yell muffled the blonde's shaking hand. For a brief moment, to Hinata's more perverse side, Naruko looked exactly like one the women in the videos Benihime showed them.

'_Oh sweet Kami-sama, it's like she's having an or- NO! SHUT UP! THERE IS NOTHING REMOTELY SEXUAL ABOUT THIS!_' Angel-Hinata screamed while throwing Devil-Hinata in a wood chipper with extreme prejudice.

Now, thanks to the forces of good having triumphant over evil, Hinata managed to finish working with the seal on Naruko's abdomen as it stopped spewing the foreign energy. However, the Hyuga soon found herself in a bit of a problem as she just realized that the rest of the blonde's lower half was left. This meant that Hinata would still have to funnel the chakra from the girl's groin and legs through the seal. Without even thinking the young Hyuga knew this would be the toughest part given she knew just how sensitive those two particular areas were due to an accident where the showerhead was pointing up.

Safe to say the next couple of moments had the good side of Hinata working overtime. Reason being that, yes, Naruko had extremely sensitive legs that quivered or spasmed under her guided touch. And Kami-sama, dear sweet Kami-sama, the noises the small Uzumaki was producing managed to even make the Angel question the purity of their actions. Yet nothing, absolutely and utterly nothing, could compare to the moment Hinata's chakra covered fingers accidentally brushed pass Naruko's forbidden area.

It was just a brief graze, it could not even be considered a poke, but it was enough for Naruko to let out a scream. For every god in heaven and demon in hell, that scream combined with those spasms, arching back, tensing body and release of liquids could only mean one thing. One thing that Hinata had only seen once in her life and it was that the end one _those_ videos Benihime insisted were educational. This also meant Hinata had been the reason for her crush reaching that end and her mind simply could not deal with that meant. Therefore the Hyuga heiress shut down her higher brain functions and dedicated the rest to finish the tasked of getting storing the red chakra into the crystal.

The next minutes were a blur of hand movements other a still twitching and convulsing body owned by a girl that was whimpering and trying to catch her breath.

"I am done," Hinata whispered could barely be heard. After this, she turned off her Byakugan and for the longest time refused to look at Naruko's face. She didn't need to look at her dear friend with a blushed dusting the blonde's now healthy colored skin. She didn't want to see the girl panting as she tried to catch her breath. However, what most Hinata didn't want to see was the look of betrayal Naruko probably had for forcing this. Thus she kept silent with head bowed as the blonde twitched from the aftershocks.

She didn't know how long Naruko's body kept twitching. However, when the aftershocks finally stopped the whiskered girl sighed in relief. Yet as time went on the Uzumaki just kept panting without saying a word which worried Hinata even more. At some point, the silence became too much for the princess and she was about to speak when there was movement at the edge of her vision.

Then in a blink of an eye, Hinata found her back slammed onto the mattress and a panting wild-looking Naruko straddling her.

Shocked lavender eyes looked up and blue pools that have darkened to almost looked black.

Hinata gulped.

* * *

A/N:

Yes, this is the end of this chapter. Yes, you have to wait two weeks for what happens next. Also, I liked to point out that I had this chapter, at least the last part, became way more different than what I thought it was going to be. Hence I'm going blame Anko and older Hinata for taking over the writing. Blame them for the ecchi, not me!


	15. Feelings

**Chapter 15: Feelings**

[Ninja Academy - Outside of the Infirmary]

The male ANBU stared at the door as he questioned his very existence. Like almost every ANBU in the village, he had been subjected to the Uzumaki's special brand of mayhem and thus didn't like her much. However, at the same time, he respected her even more because of how time and again the girl had humbled him through a well-placed net or glue bomb. On an unrelated note, he was very thankful that their masked could handle them falling flat on their faces.

Anyway, getting back on topic, Gorilla was looking at the door to the infirmary with worry. He, along with his partner, had been told by their commander that the Hyuga princess would somehow be of help with the junchuriki's recovery. The duo shrugged and the princess went in which meant Gorilla went back to guarding like normal. Though internally he questioned himself, "Why was Hyuga-ojousama a better choice for healing Uzumaki-san than a doctor?" Then the sounds started. At first, it was just grunting and whimpers that could be justified as small whines of pain. However, the seasoned ANBU's doubts increased as the sounds became more prominent and distinguished. The worst part was that Gorilla was sure that he recognized the grunts as been more akin to moans of pleasure than pain.

Yet a more hopeful part of his brain, the part that still refused to believe he was getting too old for this kind of job, refused to believe that the _Hyuga Princess_ and the _Demon brat_ could be doing such things somewhere where they could be easily found out. '_They're too young,_' he tried to reason because the idea of the two girls of two different lifestyles joining as one wasn't new to him. Heck, playing matchmaker to such a couple was how he brought down a corrupt politician back in his younger days.

Then came that final scream and suddenly the old ANBU felt all his years finally crash on him. Gorilla knew exactly what that sound was.

"Shouldn't… Shouldn't we do something?" He asked his younger partner. The kunoichi in question just snorted and could practically see the smirk behind her rabbit mask.

"Sorry senpai. There is no amount of gold you can give that will make me interrupt an Alpha right after she has been pleased by her mate. One of my cousins did that to Tsume-sama by accident once. Poor bastard was sent through a wall after she threw her nightstand at him in surprise. Should have known better, really. We Inuzuka women like bask in the aftershock of a good mating session," Rabbit commented with a chuckle.

"But… Uzumaki-san isn't an Inuzuka?"

"True, but she does possess _its _power in her which gives Naruko-chan the chance of becoming the biggest and strongest Alpha in this village. Besides I know for a fact at most I'm ranked as a Delta so there is no way I could resist submitting to a recently awakened Alpha. Heck, even standing this close is making weak in the knees!"

"So, we leave them alone?"

"Yep! Unless you want to risk not getting that retirement, old man."

"Heh, you're right. I'm getting too old for shit."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Ninja Academy - Infirmary]

Hinata's eyes looked up to Naruko and she found a beast. It was an animal whose golden hair cascades around both their head like honey. All the while those blue eyes spoke of hunger for flesh and much more as the small blue pixels that normally danced inside the Uzumaki's iris started turning into pink hearts. The pink itself was also making a noticeable pink heart that framed the blonde's irises. Surprisingly, the trapped Hyuga didn't feel in any danger as the panting blonde stared down at her. Truth be told even as Hinata felt her throat dry up, she felt safe. Maybe it was the knowledge that she could knock out the girl with a single touch or that Naruko's right hand was interlocked with her left like a lifeline but Hinata knew she didn't want to be anywhere else but here. Plus feeling the heated and wet core of the whiskered girl on her stomach and knowing she was the one that causes this made her feel all sort of confusing but very welcomed sensations.

Then Naruko started to lower herself and Hinata stopped breathing.

Naruko was being painfully slow in her movement and Hinata suspects it was deliberate. This, the Hyuga thought, was fair given the torture she put her through but damn did she not want more. Regretfully the hungry blonde stopped when their bodies were pressed together enough that the act of one breathing would push the other's chest. How Hinata had passed out yet she didn't know but she imagined it had to do with Naruko's unflinching stare. Then the young Hyuga was forced to close her eyes and take an uneven breath while clamping the Uzumaki's hand as the blonde pressed their foreheads and noses together.

'_Wow, so this is how I die. Being rubbed down by a girl. Not bad,_' Hinata told herself as she felt her entire body catching fire while Naruko rubbed their noses together. Then she felt the fingernails from Naruko's free hand lightly scratch her scalp. This was followed by the blue-eyed girl placing her teeth on the Hyuga's chin. "_~Oh~_" Hinata whispered and softly gasped at the feeling. It wasn't strong enough to be called a bite. It certainly lacked the pressure to be considered a nibble. However, the princess' toes still curled as those strong teeth traveled her jawline as if trying to savor each millimeter it could get. Then came the neck and Hinata threw her head back as if to present her jugular. All it would take was a strong bite for Naruko to end her and yet Hinata fully trusted this would not happen. The Byakugan user still gasped as her captor gave her neck a quick lick from collarbone to the jaw.

"N-N-Naru-kun," Hinata managed to pant out through shaken breath.

"Hinata-hime," Naruko answered for the first time. Hearing this voice finally made the Hyuga open her eyes. The first thing the pair of lavender eyes found was the grin those devilish lisps were given her. Then looking up they met twin cerulean orbs that looked at her with satisfaction and unshed tears of happiness.

That was it.

That was the final straw.

For years Hinata had seen many emotions pass through those blue eyes from joy to anger and on rare occasions sadness. However, never before had she seen such genuine unbridled joy and that did Hinata in. After seeing that look not a single part of her could even muster the will to fight her feelings towards Naruko Uzumaki anymore. That look of pure happiness killed any hope she could have of sealing away her feelings.

Plus, now that she thought about: why did she need to hide her feelings for the small kunoichi? For the honor of the Hyuga Clan? Hell no, the clan already gave up on her long before she knew what these feelings were. Maybe it was for the possibility that her father would still accept her? Yeah, that was by far the stupidest reason of the two. The man practically ignored her existence and had already written her off as the clan's greatest disgrace. Therefore, Hinata realized there wasn't anything but her insecurities stopping her from being with the Uzumaki. Not to mention that while this was probably too early for a relationship in a little over two months, they would be fully active shinobi and their lives could end at any moment once they stepped out of the village's walls. Life in their line of work was too short to wait for later.

'_All it takes is a single step,_' Hinata reminded herself with a small smile.

She took that step.

For a single moment, Naruko looked like she was about to say something but having felt a hand on the back of her head had stopped her. The next moment Hinata pulled their heads together. What followed could not be considered a kiss but more a smashing of lips where teeth could be felt and heard clacking against each other. It was messy, clumsy and it definitely showed that neither party knew what they were doing other than pressing their lips together and holding their breath until they couldn't hold it anymore. Neither of the two kunoichis even dared to move for fear of making an even bigger fool of herself at the moment. Yet that simple bump meant so much more for them.

That stupid, silly and frankly comical action was more of a declaration between the two. Not a declaration of love but more of acceptance and a promise. A promise that they would try and make something more of the attraction they have developed for one another. Maybe this was love or maybe it was just hormones going wild due to a massage that got way out of hand but right now it didn't matter to them.

They were going to try.

"_Wow,_" both kunoichis whispered to each other after separating their lips. But they kept their foreheads press as they stared at one another. "_Wow,_" they repeated again with equal grins before they burst into giggles.

"That _***giggle***_ that was the single _***chuckle***_ greatest thing to _***giggle***_ ever happen to me," Naruko declared through her laughter. Hinata wasn't much better so she chose to wait a bit more before speaking.

"You're _***giggle***_ welcome, Naru-kun," the Byakugan princess said with a brilliant smile. "I… I just took a step." The semi-naked blonde's face took on a confused look for a moment. Then the memory of the Hyuga's ascension clicked and chuckled into her girlfriend's(?) neck.

"Wow, now _that's_ how you use someone's words against them! I must concede my defeat, Ojou-sama," Naruko said with a happy grin that refused to leave. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get a girlfriend like this. Girlfriend… Feels so strange saying it," she commented while squeezing Hinata's hand. "We're girlfriends, right?"

"Yes," Hinata's mouth said before she could think or register the worry in Naruko's voice. Immediately she blushed crimson but still turned her head so they could lock eyes. She then took a calming breath and said "Yes," with even more conviction.

Naruko looked for any sign of deceit, regret or anything negative on those lavender orbs but found none. Instead what she found was acceptance, hope, admiration, caring and (dare she think?) love. These emotions weren't unknown to the Uzumaki given that Iruka-sensei, Jiji, Teuchi-san, his daughter Ayame, Tenten and even Ming-Ming alongside the girls at the _Mint Lily_ had shown her those easily. However, none compared to the way the princess was showing them so unabashedly real. It made Naruko give Hinata's lips a quick peck before pulling back with a lazy smirk.

"Your clan is going to kill me. I just corrupted their princess," the smaller girl said without a care for her blushing face. She was just too happy to care.

"Screw them." Again, the princess' mouth acted before her brain. The responding chuckle and raised eyebrow made Hinata blush harder. Still, she fought against the possible faint and spoke "That c-c-clan elders and Hiashi-sama disowned me as the true clan heiress years ago which means I no longer represent the Hyuga main branch. S-S-Since they decided to abandon me, I see no reason why they should dictate how I live. A-A-And that means I g-g-get to spend time with my girlfriend!" Hinata looked ready to faint after that declaration but a small squeeze of their interlinked hands kept her awake. Thus, she was able to keep staring into and her girlfriend's eyes. The pink heart ring around Naruko's irises had vanished but Hinata could still see a few small heart dancing in the sea of light blue pixels.

'_I wonder if Naru-kun knows about how her eyes are affected by her bloodline limit? Probably not given you _have_ to be this close to her to actually notice the pixels. And I alone get to enjoy this beautiful sight,_' Hinata thought as the hand she had used to pull Naruko's head in moved to the girl's cheek. There she lightly scratched the whisker-like scars…

Prrrr…

Prrrr…

Prrrr…

"D-D-Did you just purred?"

…

…

…

"No?"

_***Scratch, Scratch, Scratch***_

Prrrr…

Prrrr…

Prrrr…

"That's so cute!"

"Shut up! We'll never talk about this again."

…

…

…

"I… I didn't say stop."

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(Lunch Time)

[Ninja Academy - Cafeteria]

Ino had somehow found herself eating lunch with Shikamaru, Choji, Shino and both Kiba and his adorable ninken Akamaru. On one hand, it was kind of annoying that she was surrounded by boys yet _she_ wasn't the main topic of their attention. On the other hand, she had a cute white puppy that liked getting scratchies and cuddles. Plus, it also annoyed the Inuzuka that his partner was getting more female attention than him. As for what was on everyone's mind…

"Still man, how the hell did we ever think Naruko was weak? That fight was freaking badass!" Kiba said for like the hundredth time. Shikamaru, who was laying on the grass, sighed in slight annoyance.

"You, the bullies and Sasuke are the only ones that thought that. You and Sasuke because she couldn't beat you in fight and Goto's groups because they always went five to one against her. However, if you stop to think you see that when it comes to one on one fights won that troublesome blonde is actually ranks third only behind you and Sasuke. And if I remember correctly, she has even come much closer to beating Sasuke than you've ever had," the Naru explained from the ground.

"Damn dude. Didn't mean to insult your _~girlfriend~_," Kiba teased with a fanged grin.

"She's not my girlfriend," Shikamaru grumbled in response which made the boy laugh.

"Hahaha, Of course not! You're a boy and we all know that tomboy doesn't swing that way in the least," the Inuzuka joked while taking a bite of his meal. However, he didn't need his enhanced hearing to notice the silence that fell over their table. "What?" He asked while looking around. "Did I say something wrong?" Kiba asked again when he found Ino glaring at him.

"Be careful of what you say next mutt," the Yamanaka growled. The supposed intimidation act only made the boy raise an eyebrow.

"About what?" Kiba inquired genuinely. Then he received a couple of barks and growls in response from Akamaru. "Why is it that me saying Naruko is gay wrong? I thought everyone on this table knew she liked girls? Petty, she stares as Sakura's butt as much as Ino does."

"I do _**not**_ stare at Foreheads butt," a blush Ino half whispered-half yelled. Kiba just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. And it almost doesn't look at all like you want to suck face with either Naruko or Sakura when you get all up on each other's faces during your fights." The Yamanaka princess blushed crimson at this while making a sound similar to a strangled cat before throwing a piece of her food at him. With practice ease, Kiba caught the grape in his mouth and ate it much to the girl's frustration. "Seriously though. You can't possibly tell me none of you guys didn't notice the "Dead Last" was more competition for us than a possible mate, right? I mean, Naruko is like the first of two girls in our class to not show a lick of interest in that Duckbutt let alone boys in general."

"Your logic seems flawed Inuzuka-san," Shino spoke evenly for the first time since they sat to eat as a group. He was eating with a spoon the pot of honey Naruko had given him. "By your very logic people like I who have not shown any interest in the females of our class would also be classified as a homosexual."

Kiba in response glared though it didn't hold any animosity in it. "Oh, don't even think I haven't seen the way you look at my sister when you and your father come to the clinic to help with flea outbreaks. That is so against the Bro Code." While on the surface Shino remained calm and collected at this if they looked hard enough, they could see the tip of the Aburame's ears turning pink. The others in the group chuckled a bit at this. "Anyway, no, I don't think not liking our opposite sex classmate makes you gay. As far as I'm concerned so long as you don't force it on people you can like anyone. However, I refuse to ignore such strong competition as Naruko when it comes to my quest for a mate," the Inuzuka proclaimed.

"Why is that?" Choji asked with confusion. "Almost everyone thinks Naruko-san is weak and most of the girls hate her because she's the only one that gets to spend time with Sasuke-san uninterrupted even if it's because they're training matches," the Akamichi finished and Kiba smirked in response.

"It's not gay if its Naruko Uzumaki." The quote alone made Ino give a spectacular spit-take and almost choke on the rest of her juice. The mind-walker still managed to give the dog theme ninja a withering glare.

"How do you know that saying? I swear Dog-Breath, if you out any of the girls-"

"Relax Princess. I live with both my mother and big sister. Respecting women has been practically beaten into me since I could talk. Sure, I can throw a cat-call or wolf-whistle here or there but I would never actually hurt a girl. Plus, unlike you Gossip Queen, I don't go around spreading rumors that could potentially ruin someone's lives," Kiba explained and added "As for how I've heard of it? _***points at his ears***_ Enhanced hearing, remember?"

Ino sighed gratefully that the boy sounded sincere about not exposing about a third of the female in their class. "Thank you, Kiba-san. A lot of those girls still don't know if they really like girls or just stunned in admiration by how Naruko is able to fight against boys and win. As for ruining people's lives through rumors? I've only done that _once_ and that was to a guy that was trying to blackmail my aunty. It's too bad for him that he forgot to pay taxes for more than a few years."

"Hey," Choji started again while munching on some chips. "Since we're on the topic of girls liking other girls or not being interested in boys. Who's the second girl that you know about, Kiba-san?"

"Hinata Hyuga," the boy with the red fang tattoos on his face said as if it was the most natural thing ever. "I mean, can any of you think of a single moment when she showed _any_ interest in any boy? I for one, have never seen it. But what I have seen is her watching the Dead Last when she thinks no one is looking multiple times. Plus, I've seen a distinct lack of our Hyuga princess and knuckleheaded Uzumaki. Secret meeting perhaps or maybe something more like a says a princess playing a sexy nurse for our injured heroine?"

"And there goes any respect I may have had for your observation skills, perverted mutt," Ino deadpan upon seeing the boys lecherous grin. It also blocked her mind from forming the, understandably, hot image. "Besides even if, that is a big if, those two had any type of feelings for one another they wouldn't get together for multiple reasons," she said before starting to count with her fingers "One: Hinata is way too damn shy to make the first move. Two: Naruko's skull is too dense for her to realize some else's feelings for her. Three: those two had just started talking to each other about a week ago. A relationship is way too early for them. Four: I really doubt either of those two even know how to act sexy. And finally, five: Hinata faints at the slightest show of affection, approval or hint of nudity while Naruko flat out fainted seconds after she poked Hinata's boobs by accident."

"Wait a moment! You're telling me not only is that idiot packing a rocking set of melons on her but she also got to touch another girl's tits?! Dammit! Life ain't fair man," Kiba moaned out in despair.

"That's what got out of that?!" Ino accused with indignation.

"What more is there to take? The baka is clearly more of a man than any of us. I just hope she doesn't decide to make a harem. I might lose my chance of finding a mate!" Oh, Ino wanted to kill the perverted mutt for that comment but she stopped herself. If Kiba died Akamaru would be sad and she couldn't do that to the cute little pupper. Not his fault his owner was a massive idiot like most boys. So, she just huffed, finished her food and waited for lunch to end so they could get to class.

'_Still, Kiba is right about something. Hinata hasn't returned since she got called to help Pumpkin. I'm starting to worry about that girl. I understand her new powers let her do a lot more than even an average shinobi but what that orange idiot went through was just too much punishment for a single person. I really hope that they're okay,_' Ino thought before she saw another chat message pop in front of her thought this time it came from Benihime. Seeing as she was the only one who could see the floating letter she ignored it for now as she excused herself. Once she found a secluded area Ino opened the message and nearly had a heart attack.

It was a picture of Naruko back to full health.

Dress in just a pair of orange panties and bra.

Covered in sweat, blushing and panting on the bed while a blushing Hinata stood to the side with her head down but clearly blushing too. Below the picture, it said "Results of a Hyuga's magic hands!"

'_Holy shit… WHY IS THIS SO HOT?!_' Ino asked herself as her face burned thanks to the image and remembering Kiba's suggestion. '_What the hell were those two idiots doing?! And at school no less!_' her eyes then wandered over the recently healed Uzumaki's body. "Oh, Kami-sama… those muscles," she said almost breathless.

Weird how these two blondes awakened each other's kink, huh?

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Ninja Academy - Hallways]

As the graduating class arrived back at the training area after lunch, they noticed another change. Instead of a single set of double doors, there were two. One was identified as leading to the dojo while the other to the gym. The next thing the group noticed was that a healthy-looking Naruko Uzumaki dressed in an orange gi with a long sleeve black undershirt and blue boots. She was currently leaning on the wall and talking with Hinata.

"You certainly healed fast Uzumaki-san," Dragon commented when he noticed the girl. Hearing this the girl grinned and shrugged.

"I heal fast. Though I don't think I'll be using my scythe until tomorrow. My shoulder is still a bit tender after today's accident."

"Accident?! Dude, you had your arm ripped off and punched through the gut!" Kiba's voice could be heard yelling over the murmurs of the group. Again, Naruko shrugged.

"Sure, it was a little more extreme than what I'm used to but I can handle a little pain," she answered with a grin before eyes turned cold and glared at a particular group. The students could also feel pressure coming for the small girl. "You can thank Goto's bootlickers for that," Naruko said before grinning savagely as her eyes briefly flash red. "All of the times I had to set back dislocated bones or walk myself to the hospital with broken ones helped a lot with that." The group of bullies soon felt everyone's eyes on them and tried to look tough. However, it wasn't as effective when they saw Hinata glaring at them and looked even more terrifying than the evil version of her that the Uzumaki had fought.

"It's good to know you're okay, Naruko-chan," Iruka said after giving the boys one final glare. "We were going to use the gym now to start giving you students a work-out regimen. Given what happened with the training puppets it's safe to say you're excused from today." At the suggestion, the orange student gave a snort before smirking.

"Please sensei. I said my shoulder was a little soft, not that I couldn't move it." To prove her point Naruko completely lifted her arm, rotated it and gave a few jabs and swings with no visible sign of discomfort to the group's awe. "Besides, I have to build up more back, shoulder and arm muscles if I want to keep swinging my scythe around."

"Just don't overexert yourself, okay?" asked the chunin instructor. The small blonde nodded and the group filtered into the gym. Once in, the class was given instructions on how to use the machines and which would be preferable for them. After this was teachers assigned workout drafts to the students based on their performances during morning practice. For safety reasons, the class was made to do some warm-up before they started exercising however there was one notable exception.

"Hey," one of the girls from the Sasuke Fan Club, who was having trouble keeping pace on the bicycle, pointed out. "Why is the Dead Last not working out? She said she could!"

Everyone turned to where the girl was pointing and sure enough, they found Naruko standing beside a weight rack with her back turned to them. To the ones that had been watching the girl more closing since entering the gym, they would have argued with the accusation. Reason being that, as the introductions were being given, Naruko had separated from the group to a corner and started doing some advanced stretching and warm-up regiment that had only just ended. However, these people didn't speak out since they knew the whiskered girl would already have a comeback prepared.

To the surprise of the group, the Uzumaki seemed to ignore or at least didn't pay attention to the accusation. Instead, the short girl that shouldn't weigh more than 60lbs soaking wet grabbed a set of 80lbs dumbbells like it was nothing and proceeded towards one of the benches. The height challenge 12-year-old did stop when she felt people watching them so she turned to the class who were staring at her slacked jawed. The only exceptions were for Hinata who had a small grin and Ino who Naruko could have sworn bit her lower lip for a split second. Either way, the Uzumaki stared back in confusion.

"What? Did I knock something over?" She asked genuinely while looking around and even fully lifted weights over her head to get a better look at the ground. When the whiskered girl saw nothing, she lowered the equipment and looked back at her classmates with even more confusion. "What happened?"

"Dude…" Kiba was the first to respond though he still looked shocked. "Aren't you like… lifting more than you weigh?"

Naruko gave a small glare like she was insulted and said "Of course I am Kibble. Sure, I haven't ever weighed myself but I sure all heck ain't 160lbs. Besides, the weight is evenly distributed between both arms. And why are you surprised? Boys are supposed to be stronger than girls so it should be easy for you guys to lift your weight and more." With that, the girl just walked off to one of the far-off benches, sat down and started doing her reaps. Both Benihime and the adults had to turn around or cough to hide the laughs over who many of the boys looked like their pride as males had just been shattered by the smallest person in the class.

"Hey," Naruko heard a gentle voice call out beside her. She turned to see her girlfriend get up on one of the treadmills close by. Hinata shot her a small smile that she returned with a small grin.

"Hey, yourself," she said to Hinata. The two had agreed to not hide their new relationship but there was no need to broadcast it to everyone. Plus, since people already assumed friendship between girls was more affectionate than boy friendships it would be a great prank to see with how much they could get away with before people figured it out."Carefully with those treadmills. They can have a bit of a kick to it if you go high enough."

"Roger that," Hinata thanked as she followed the instructions and set it for a walking pace first. Then she whispered "How did you make all of these changes? It was you, right? That's the reason you sent one of your clones to meet us and hide behind the guise of being punished, correct?"

"Figured that out, huh?" Naruko inquired in the same low tone while taking a peek at the Hyuga. There she saw the girl briefly activated her Byakugan. "Of course, I couldn't hide from those eyes. Yeah, I did make those changes. I can show you later how but safe to say I'm now my own construction team, company, and industrial machine."

"You're amazing."

"Baby you know it."

And Hinata did because she was using her Byakugan to see pass the girl's black undershirt. Hence, she was the only privy to seeing the Uzumaki's arm muscles tighten and flex with each curl. The best part was that her blush could be hidden under the assumption of heat from running which she was doing with her armor on as one-half weight training and one-half getting used to moving in it. Regretfully as time passed the two couldn't really talk about things like dungeons, monsters, magic or experiments as the other treadmills besides Hinata were being filled by other students. What they could talk about, however, was braining storming about outings (dates) they could partake in or training sessions to improve their various techniques.

During all of this, students watched as Naruko kept doing curls one after the other to the point some of them gave up on counting after the girl passes 100 on each arm without sweating. Some of the boys, not having ever lifted a weight in their lives, felt even weaker as they couldn't get past the 30-50 range with less weight. Then there was Hinata who surprised many as she kept talking with Naruko while the speed of the treadmill gradually increased until the Hyuga was not jogging but full-on running in her armor. Even Ino, who knew the real extent of those two's power, felt a little jealous at this display.

'_Damn, those two aren't even showing off! They're just working out at their relaxed place but are still leaving us in the dust. No, Ino. Don't feel discouraged now. Look at what they're doing now and picture that was your goal. In this race, their starting line just looks impossibly ahead because you slept through the initial lap. Just start now and you'll get there! Not now and not tomorrow but if you keep at it you will,_' Ino told herself while pedaling her bike at an acceptable rate for a beginner.

Sakura was also on a bike next to the Yamanaka but for once the two weren't fighting as they treated each other with neutrality and used their machines. About the only hostility shown between them was the use of their insulting nicknames for each other. Even then that ended up sounding more like a greeting between employees than anything malicious. Maybe the acknowledgment of the rivalry and acceptance of the challenge meant they now viewed each other as equal? Only time could tell.

However, while all of this was going on one particular student remained quiet and observed. This student was none other than the village's very own Last Uchiha, Sasuke, and he was currently having an interesting discussion with himself.

'_How? How is she this strong? I should have that power not- No, Sasuke. Breathe, take time, calm down and remember what the therapist said. "Do not let your anger and jealousy for someone being stronger get the better of you. You don't have to be the strongest in the village. Itachi is out there alone and you're in here surrounded by people willing to help." I have to remember that people are willing to help me. I just have to ask. Just show respect and ask. Don't demand because no one is obligated to tell you their secrets. Now relax, Sasuke. Breathe, relax and give her the letter. If she says no walk away. Do. NOT. Make. A. Scene. Just walk away,_' the Sasuke told himself as he looked at the letter addressed to Naruko in his hands.

Like everyone else, he had considered Naruko a useless weakling and even more so since she was a girl. It was extremely sexist, but after his mother died all the women that surrounded him just wanted him for the status. And since none of the harpies ever put worked into their future as kunoichi he just thought it was normal for them to be weak annoyances. Even when the small Uzumaki seemed to like breaking the model by acting more like a boy and constantly fought with bullies Sasuke didn't acknowledge her. Heck, even when she got to face him in sparring matching the way Sasuke could easily defeat her just convinced him that women as a whole were beneath him. That time she tripped and accidentally ended headbutting Sasuke hard enough for him to lose a tooth didn't count. It was one of his baby teeth after all and everyone knew you lost those eventually. Thankfully, his therapist had been working with him about fixing this erroneous line of thinking when it came up after a particularly tiresome day dealing with the fan club. Now he had gotten back to the point of being able to respect women like human beings though he still considered his classmates useless on the battlefield for the most part. Then, of course, the small Uzumaki had to make him rearrange the line of thinking again today.

Sasuke was arrogant, he knew that and he also knew that came from constantly excelling above his peers. However even as big as his ego could get the Uchiha was under no impression that he was immortal. Watching the butchered remains of his family by the hands of his brother made sure that Sasuke knew he could just as easily die. Hence why he couldn't comprehend who the small and weak Dead Last of their school could do what she did today. She was almost a foot shorter than him yet ever since that day Naruko came back with a new look, she walked with real confidence. Confidence that even Sasuke couldn't ignore, though he did hide it well. Then came that stunt with the wall and the targets which bruised his ego to no end but the Uchiha refused to let it show. Even when she summoned that weapon out of nowhere to catch herself and the Hyuga after Goto's unprovoked attack Sasuke felt intrigued he did not see why he should care for now.

'_Yet today that idiot managed to fight harder than I ever could against an opponent that by all logic should have killed her and not only did she survive but won. I need to know: how did she do it? How could she make the impossible possible? How is she able to survive something like that?_' Sasuke thought while walking towards Naruko. Unbeknownst to him (not that he cared) the people around noticed who the Uchiha was walking with purpose. Some even move out of the way out of curiosity to see where he was head with that letter in hand. Some of the girls had even become starry-eyed thinking the boy was about to confess to them only for their dreams to be shattered as he walked past them without so much as a glance. Then Sasuke finally reached Naruko and you could hear a pin drop.

The whiskered girl had noticed someone had stood before her and was in the process of ignoring them when she noticed the silence. Then before she could even look up a letter was presented to her. She raised an eyebrow and looked up to the permanent scowl that was Sasuke Uchiha's face.

"DuckButt, I swear to all the Kamis if that is a love letter, I will learn how to draw just for the exclusive purpose of spreading manga of you getting hot and heavy with the boys in our class," Naruko commented with a straight face and even tone. However, given the silence in the room, _everyone_ heard the threat which caused various reactions among the student body. Some laughed, some cringed and a few girls _and_ boys swooned or fanned themselves.

[Naruko-chan,] Benihime said through the ear-piece [I know you're trying to get a rise out of him but look closer. I think he is using anger management techniques.] Hearing this the Uzumaki views the boy more critically. Sure enough, she could see Sasuke was breathing in and out slowly while counting with the fingers on his free hand. Naruko also noticed that her words must have had an even stronger effect than she thought as it took the black-haired boy until the count of 20 before he started talking again. Yay, for small victories!

"That is _not_ a love letter," Sasuke stressed through gritted teeth. "That is a formal challenge letter. Inside this letter, you will read how I, Sasuke Uchiha, ask you, Naruko Uzumaki, for a proper match to test our skills and the winner to gain new knowledge from the defeated. I have written this in response to the display of power you have shown today against overwhelming odds. I have found some of your skills interesting and useful for my endeavors," Sasuke explained as calmly and clearly as he could. Naruko raised an eyebrow in surprise.

'_I think that's the most I've ever heard him talk. Guess small miracles do happen,_' she thought while putting down her weights. Then she took the letter, unfolded it and read it with Benihime's help. The two girls ended up blinking at one specific part "It said here I get to set the date, time, place, and rules of engagement. Even set up the challenge if I don't want to fight you? Doesn't that give me an extremely unfair advantage? With these, you could just very well say I cheated if you lose."

"No," Sasuke said with a firmness that surprised even the adults watching. "I've made these arrangements because up until today you have not shown a level of skill I could perceive as a threat." How the boy managed to make his tone _not_ sound insulting or condescending was impossible to tell. That didn't stop Naruko from wanting to punch him in the throat out of principal. Then the Uchiha continued "I want this to be a fair challenge from both of us and if that means giving you an advantage so we can be on the same level. Now, will you accept it? After today I understand if you aren't at full strength which is why I'll let you set the date. However, given that impressive healing ability of yours, I do hope this match will be within this week if possible."

"Wow," Naruko said while folding the letter, "I think that is by far the most we've ever heard you speak. Still think you're a bastard but at least you've somehow turned into someone that can hold a civil conversation. Anyway, I will accept your challenge." Then those nearby could see an incredibly evil smirk formed on the girl's lips while everyone else could feel it. "And you are right," she started with a tone befitting of a movie villain "I am very tired from the mess of a fight. Therefore, our match will be more of a challenge for you with me as the judge, of course. But I wouldn't let you know what this challenge will be until tomorrow as I need to get the materials ready. Don't worry though it seems like it will be a very simple task I can assure you it will be a test of your endurance and self-control. Who knows, maybe is you do finish it I'll just accept defeat outright."

With that, the girl stored her letter, picked up her weights and with Hinata proceeded to continue their exercises. All the while the students and Sasuke himself wondered just what the boy had gotten himself into.

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(After School)

[Ninja Academy - Entrance]

"So," Naruko said while she walked out with Hinata and Ino "what do you girls have planned for today?"

"Nothing really," Hinata announced with a small smile. "I had a fight with Hiashi-sama over my wish to train on something more than our family's arts. Safe to say the clan is not such a welcoming place right now. Not that it was, to begin with."

"I'm actually the opposite," Ino commented while scratching her cheek with worry about the Hyuga's comment. '_From the talk in the dungeon I knew her home life wasn't the best but I didn't think it was that bad. I hope we can help her with that,_' she thought while saying "I have plans to practice my Psi abilities back home plus mom wants to help me advance with by herbology. Though I could spare an hour or two of free time to train with you two. It going to be helpful anyway."

"Actually, why don't you guys come home with me? Both of you know about plants and you could help me with my greenhouse," Naruko suggested.

"You have a greenhouse?" both of her friends asked in surprise and with excited smiles.

"Yeah. It's small right now but maybe you can help me improve it. Plus, Ino-chan's family owns a flower shop so I expect she knows a lot more," the Uzumaki answered as they stopped by the wooden fence around the academy and away from the crowd.

"Not on the level of mom yet but depending on your goals, resources, and budget I could give you points and estimates," the Yamanaka responded with a small smirk and her eyes with the glint of a seller.

"Guess that settles it then," Hinata said and took hold of both of the girls' hands. Then she blushed as she looked at her girlfriend. "W-W-When you're ready."

"R-R-Right!" blushing and grinning Naruko exclaimed while opening the **Fast Travel** window.

"Wait! I'm not-" Ino trying to say before they were launched into the air and landed at their destination. "ready," she finished while marveling that her lunch wasn't trying to say hello. It seemed that not looking down actually _did_ work. '_Who knew?_' the mind-walked joked before feeling a strong gust on her skin. On instinct, she turned towards it and finally noted she couldn't see the ground. "Are we on a roof?"

"Yep. I did a bit of remodeling this weekend and decided on installing an elevator. Now I don't have to climb stairs all of the time. Plus, since I extended the elevator to the roof the option to be transported to here instead of the ground level entrance became available."

"How did you install an elveva- Wow, I thought you said it was a small greenhouse," Ino said as she turned around and saw the structure which took up almost the entire rooftop. Then there was a flash of green light coming from Naruko and next thing they knew the ground beneath them became a softly glowing grid. The Yamanaka blinked and looked up to her friend who was smiling innocently. "I'm cursed to accept your freak powers from now on, aren't I?"

The whiskered girl chuckled "If you think about that is your fault for bribing yourself into my life. Anyway, what you two are seeing right now is just the housing. I still haven't put anything in there other than chalk outline of where I plan to place things. Hence, no seeds growing and since I used up all of my healing items against the defective puppet, I don't even have any herbs to start anything. Now that I think about it, I'll have to go into a dungeon with my clones and collect the plants so I can start cultivating."

"W-W-We could do that later then," Hinata suggested with a small smile and blush. '_W-W-We could treat it as our first d-d-date!_' she thought somewhat giddy.

"It's a date then," Naruko announced reading the girl's mind. Thankfully, they and Benihime noticed, Ino didn't put much thought into their words as she was preoccupied with examining the greenhouse.

"Sounds like a plan. Now, are you going to explain this grid thing?"

"Oh yeah! Well, for starters, this is a new ability I bought that lets me enter **Building Mode**…"

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Yamanaka Flower Shop]

(One hour later)

"Thanks for all the help Ino-chan," Naruko said as the group reached the Yamanaka family's flower shop. They had just returned from a short resource-gathering mission in the _Tranquil Meadows_ dungeon. While inside there they avoided fighting by placing Hinata as the party leader which, due to the girl's higher level, made any enemy they would encounter flee on sight. Thus, the group of three girls plus a fairy spent a couple of "in-game hours" collecting various herbs, flowers, plants and seeds they could find. It was a rather peaceful and fun outing.

"I think I should be thanking you. Mama will love experimenting with some of those plants you let me collect," Ino responded with an excited grin. While many wouldn't think it given her high-maintenance appearance and her dedication to looking her best Ino didn't actually mind some dirt on herself. Truth be told, she loved working with her mother in the garden to cultivate all of their flowers and plants. Heck, this was part of the reason she didn't wear fake nails like some of the less intelligent fangirls as those extensions would only get in the way of working on the soil and the other less clean parts of gardening.

"Given the data I've scanned through, the offspring of plants you've collected will still have their properties but at a much-reduced potency. Reason being that they will not grow in a world filled with mana. I should warn that it may also take multiple tries before your family manages to successfully cultivate viable subjects," Benihime explained to the Yamanaka heiress.

"Thanks for the heads up, Beni-chan," Ino said as they arrived at the storefront. "Well, this is goodbye for today. See you, girls, tomorrow. Oh, and before I forget. Hinata-chan. Naruko. Any of you have any allergies to food or have something you don't like? Mom wants to cook you two a feast for the sleepover this weekend and she wants to avoid causing you problems."

"Oh, well… I've never actually liked crabs or shrimp. Hope that isn't a problem," Hinata answered with a calm smile. '_Heh, I think I've smiled more in these past three days than the last few years. And it's all thanks to my girlfriend… Oh wow… I have a girlfriend..._'

"Vegetables," Naruko answered with a disgusted look "Never really cared for them," she finished completely unaware of the happy squeal resonating inside Hinata's mind do to the impact of their new relationship finally registering. Ino wasn't much better at this but at least she had the excuse of wearing an enchanted jewel specifically made to stop her from reading minds.

"Vegetables, really? Wow, that's childish," Ino commented with a smirk. Not missing a beat Naruko stuck her tongue out like a child. "Fine, no shrimp, crabs or vegetables this time. Though I do warn you Pumpkin if mom ends up liking you she will get you to eat them. Nothing short of being allergic to them will stop her."

"Like to see her try," Naruko dared, which caused the girls to giggle before the Yamanaka finally left. This, in turn, left the recent girlfriends and fairy alone and without a plan. The Uzumaki and Hyuga looked at each other and blush but at least Naruko could manage to say "Well, what do we do now?" It wasn't much and even she knew that sucked but give her a chance! Not even in her wildest dreams did the whiskered girl think it was possible to get a girl to like her let alone a friend like Hinata. Plus, the jinchuriki was running into this whole dating thing blind as she hadn't even bothered to see any romance movies because she didn't like the guys!

At least Hinata wasn't fairing any better as all she could manage was to blush, poke her finger and whisper "I don't know," in response.

Benihime saw this, and while she was enjoying these two innocent girls, she decided to throw them a bone. "Why not go for a small lunch where you can talk to each other in private?"

"But the Ichiraku Ramen stall isn't very private?" Naruko commented in confusion which caused Beni to look at her mistress dumbfounded. Moment of silence layer proved that the blonde wasn't making a joke which prompted the pixel-winged redhead to pull on the girl's ear as hard as she could. "Ow ow ow ow ow! Ouch! Why did you try to rip my ear off?!"

"For thinking of a ramen stand is a good place for a first date! I don't care if the food there is delicious. A ramen place is at the very least a third or fourth date location."

"Then where do you suggest I go? There aren't any restaurants in this village that will let me enter let alone order food. At least not without a jonin to threaten them."

"What about the _Mint Lily_? All of the girls there like you and the owner told you she would provide sanctuary should you ever need it."

"Oh, wow. Yeah, I forgot about that," Naruko said before smiling and offering Hinata a hand. "What do you say, Hinata? Want to go to a nice bar with me? No alcohol though. We're too young for that and I don't want to get Ming-Ming and her girls to get in trouble." Hinata felt a little lost in this conversation as she was not aware of where this _Mint Lily_ bar was located or how Naruko was connected to it. She trusted the smaller blond and if the girl trusted these people she could at least try to as well. However, given this was a bar Hinata was going to be on her guard since, even though at this point it was just an empty title, she was still the official heiress of the Hyuga and someone could use her to blackmail the clan. She didn't much care for the main branch but she would be damn if she let anything happen to Hanabi-chan.

"Okay," Hinata finally responded and grabbed the offered hand. Then with a single nod, Hinata felt gravity reverse itself as the ground moved farther and farther away from her feet until the village, she called home could fit on her hands. '_I'm still amazed that a jutsu that lets you travel with such ease is considered a simple shortcut,_' she thought while trying to look at the world around them. Yet all the bluenette could enjoy was but a glance as they landed back in the village in a single blink. Looking around Hinata now noticed they were standing in front of the new establishment.

"This is the _Mint Lily_. As Beni-chan said before, the girls here are good friends and so long as I don't cause trouble we wouldn't be kicked out. And given this is one of the few places that don't kick me out on sight I'm going to follow all of their rules," Naruko told Hinata.

[That also means no alcohol for either of you two. I haven't searched for all of the laws of this village but from where I come from places like this need a liquor license to work legally and selling to minors was a sure-fire way to lose it,] Benihime explain/warned to the girls. Thankfully neither was planning on drinking those types of beverages give that: (1) yes, they were too young and (2) this date was for them to get to know each other better which meant they had to know how to talk and listen. Now with that out of the way, Naruko escorted her date into the bar while politely opening the door for the lady.

Hinata giggles softly while saying "Such a gentleman," before entering. The first thing she noticed was how welcoming the place looked as if it could have past for a restaurant more than a bar. The second thing she noticed was the waitstaff appeared to be comprised of only women and pretty ones at that. And it wasn't the geisha or swimsuit model beauty but the normal walks pass by you in the street and make you say "wow, she was pretty" kind of beauty. It easily made Hinata feel a pang of jealousy before it was crushed as Naruko grabbed her hand gently and gave her a small but content smile. The Hyuga princess almost became a happy jelly at the happiness that little smile was projecting towards her. Hence, Hinata just blushed, gave a shy grin and dipped her head to try and see if you could take back control of her emotions.

"Welcome to the Mint Lily, ladies you will soon- Oh, Uzumaki-san! It's good to see you again. Ming-sama was starting to wonder if you forgot about us," a teenage receptionist with chestnut hair, brown eyes, and freckles greeted them.

"Hehehe, sorry about that. It was a busy week and Ichiraku Ramen is still my favorite place to eat. However, this place may also be a good hang-out spot from when I become a kunoichi," Naruko commented with a grin. "As for today, is it possible to get a more private area for me and my date," she added while emphasizing their interlocked hands.

"Oooooh! Did our gallant prince find a girl-" the chestnut girl receptionist started teasingly until her eyes landed on the Uzumaki's companion. Even for a civilian that dark blue hair pair with those lavender pupilless eyes were easily recognizable as belonging to the Hyuga Princess. Wide brown eyes quickly shifted between the village urchin and the closest thing the village had to genuine royalty again and again. "Wow… You really go big or go home, huh?" the receptionist proclaimed stunned and mouth agape. In response, the jinchuriki chuckled.

"Did you expect any less? I saved your boss by cutting off a guy's dick _before_ I smashed a bicycle on his head. Do you think I look like the kind of girl who would be satisfied with going for the cute and gentle civilian girl? Nah, I rather go for the girl trained in a fighting style that kills by gently poking their target."

"Not to mention flighty rich," the chestnut hair teen muttered at what she thought was low enough to not be heard. For shinobi trained ears it wasn't but neither of the girls called out the teen on it. "Anyway, here are your menus. Given it's still early we aren't pact so you can take one of the more private stalls at the back. A waitress will be with you shortly."

Both girls grabbed the booklets, said their thanks and moved towards the private booths. During the small walk, Hinata finally noticed the most important part of this establishment. This was that all of the patrons talking, eating or playing were women and more than a few were not shy about the fact they were together. The young Hyuga, whose only exposure to another real live lesbian had been the girl who had captured her heart, this was an eye-opening experience.

"It's weird, right?" Naruko asked as they reached their table and sat. "All of this time I thought there was something wrong with me for liking girls. Yet here I can see so many others openly expression those feelings to likeminded individuals. It makes me feel normal for once. And having you here helps a lot too," the whiskered girl finished with another small smile. Hinata blushed again while looked down and wondered if she would ever be immune to the Uzumaki's happiness.

'_Hopefully never,_' Hinata thought with a smile as they sat on the U-shape booth. "I'm… I'm not sure i-i-if I can call myself a lesbian. You're the first person I've ever felt attracted to."

[That's okays too. Maybe you are, maybe you aren't or maybe I just got lucky. The important thing is that you two have something right now and you can build on that. From my research, I've found that the keys to a good relationship are communication and setting boundaries for both of you. First: ask "stupid" questions and to learn more about one another. An example could be how someone likes their coffee, juice or drink if you want to make it but don't know or remember how to do it. Second: say what you don't like even if you don't know why. An example could be you don't like a particular style of clothing or simply do not like people touching an item that only has meaning to you. Practice this and it should help you move through the different stages of your relationship. Also, fair warning: couple do fight, it normal, but it's how you deal with the fight and after that can make or break your relationship,] Benihime explained to the two surprised girls.

"That… I think that's good advice. Thanks, Beni-chan. But how did you know about that?"

[I was programmed with the knowledge of many shipping fanfictions, of course,] Benihime announced proudly. Naruko now looked somewhat doubtful at her friend while Hinata just looked confused.

"What are fanfictions?" Hinata asked innocently.

[Oh, in essence, those are stories created by fans of works where they enjoy and want to expand or change something to see what happens.]

"So, you telling me all of your "romance knowledge" just comes from a bunch of lonely nerds writing stories? Do you have any idea how much credibility you just lost?"

[Hey, be careful with what you say. By the theory of _The Library of Babel_ or _The Infinity Library,_ everything that ever is or will be in reality has already been written or is being written as we speak. That means your current life could just be that. A fanfiction of the original Naruto Uzumaki being written by one of those lonely nerds.]

"Great. As if I haven't already had an existential crisis after learning of the existence of many other Naruko's in the multiverse. Thanks, Benihime," Naruko grumbled while opening the bars menu.

[It is my pleasure to always provide the most useful and accurate information, my mistress,] Benihime announced with a flourished bow. Hinata didn't fully grasp that last part of the little argument but she couldn't help but giggle at the two girls' antics given they really looked like old friends. This was something she knew the Uzumaki need more than anyone in their lives.

"What will you have?"

"Huh?" Hinata questioned in surprised at having been caught off-guard. Naruko just smiles and repeated her question.

"What will you have? My clock says it's just 4:45pm and thinks it too early for dinner. Should we just order a plate of appetizers while we talk or do you just want to eat. Don't worry about the cost, exploring dungeons has certainly expanded the size of Gama-chan quite a bit. The little guy is now so full he doesn't go hungry!"

"Gama-chan?" Hinata inquired and Naruko grinned before pulling out a very full and green frog-shaped wallet.

"Someone left him as a birthday gift many years back at my door. I've been taking care of him ever since but it wasn't until now I finally feed properly. Isn't that right my sweety. You'll no longer have to go on an empty stomach!" After saying the Uzumaki proceeded to hug and caress the wallet like it was a pet and once more Hinata could only giggle at her girlfriend's antics.

'_Really? Who treats their wallet as a pet?_' she thought with amusement. '_Still, that wallet is cute. Not as cute as the googles I got her in secret but still cute. Come to think about, I still haven't finished knitting back the scarf Naru-kun lost when she defended me all of those years back. Maybe now that we're together it would be a good present._'

"I was wondering when you would come back here. Started to worry our food scared you off," a new voice said and the girls turned towards the source. Hinata could only gasp at the beautiful albino female standing before in a dark blue long sleeve cheongasm.

"Hey, Ming-Ming! How are things going since I was last here?" Naruko greeted the older woman as an old friend would. Hinata blinked in surprise at this before remembering the small chat with the receptionist back at the entrance about the Uzumaki rescuing the owner.

"Same old, same old. Though our patrons now feel even safer coming here," Ming-Ming said before lowering her voice as if to tell them a secret. "Turns out being on good terms with the Hokage's honorary granddaughter has the perks of getting a shinobi grade protection on the regular."

"Heh, that so weird, right? The same thing happened to Ichiraku Ramen after someone tried and utterly failed to burn it down," Naruko commented with false inquiry and a knowing smirk. The purple-eyed blond just chuckled for turning to look at Hinata and giving a small bow of acknowledgment before turning back to the Uzumaki.

"Have to say, I was expecting to see you here a couple of more time to experiment, fail, try again and repeat until you either find the right girl or she found you. Heck, given your age I wasn't expecting you to find a date until you were at least chunin level. Yet, here you are with Hiashi Hyuga's oldest daughter no less. You either had a death wish or managed to find some crazy blackmail to still be alive."

"Hyuga-sama does not know," Hinata spoke for the first time. Somehow the thought she, the clan's biggest disgrace, needs permission for the Clan Head rubbed the wrong way. Thus, she spoke while grabbing unconsciously grabbing her girlfriend's hand as if establishing their connection. "I no longer care what my clan thinks of me. This is my life to live and I'll decide what makes me happy. Be that being a Hyuga that uses weapons and jutsu other than the Gentle Fist or being with a woman instead of a man that was arranged for me to marry for the betterment of the clan."

"Hinata-chan," Naruko whispered as she was touched by the Hyuga's declaration. Ming-Ming as well felt the girl's words however her expression was more bittersweet.

"Heh, you remind me of my beloved. I didn't know her during her Genin years but she did tell how she said something similar to that witch of a mother of her. That _thing_ felt that Ya-chan wasn't useful for anything other than being sold for an arranged marriage since her older brother existed. Thankfully Ichi-kun and his own wife help Ya-chan escape that monster's wrath before she would have been killed," the older woman commented while caressing her engagement ring lovingly. Both girls saw this and had two different reactions. Hinata for a moment got lost in the fantasy of what it would be like to marry her crush just turned significant other.

'_Who would propose? Where both girls so would it be her or me? Oh, Naru-kun on her knees looks so great,_' Hinata thought while blushing and grinning. '_Wait, why is that idea of Naru-kun on her knees before me so appetizing?_' As the Hyuga princess was trying to sort out these new feelings Naruko reacted to Ming-Ming's story by squeezing Hinata's hand protectively.

"I wouldn't let them hurt you, Hime. Even if it means storming a castle to save you for an unwanted marriage, I'll do it! No friend of mine will be forced to live their life in misery if I have anything to say about it," Naruko declared and they could see the fire in her eyes. In response, Hinata smiled fully before chuckling at the image of the Uzumaki doing just that decked out in full armor while slinging spells, jutsu and all types of weapons.

"Thank you Naru-kun. Though I doubt it will come to that. I'm such a failure in my clan's eyes that they're just waiting for me to become a Genin to completely disown me. It's much easier to disown a legal adult than it is a child. You don't need to worry about providing living expenses that way," Hinata commented as it was but an afterthought. Unbeknownst to her the ease and assuredness with which she said this was like throwing a bucket of cold water on the campfire.

[Well, this outing such became depressing,] Benihime mutter to Naruko who briefly nodded but said nothing.

"Ahem, sorry for bring these thoughts up," Ming-Ming coughed to quickly change the subject. Then she took out her notepad and pen. "Anyway, what will be you be having today? I hope you understand that given your age we will not provide any alcohol. However, given this is your first time here as a couple you'll get the couple's discount." After this, the girls ordered two plates of mixed appetizers with Hinata ordering a soda and Naruko water as sugar tended to make her extra hyperactive. Then, with orders taken, Ming-Ming excused herself to leave and left the new couple to talk.

"So, where do we start?" Naruko asked after Ming-Ming was out of earshot.

"How about what caused this?" Hinata suggested which made Naruko blush hard and start acting nervously.

"Well, that massage you gave me-"

"No! Before that," the Hyuga called out while quickly slapping her hands over the Uzumaki's mouth. Right now, she didn't want to think of what she did to the girl! That type of deep analysis was better felt for when she was alone in her bed with total privacy. "Why were you fighting that Training Puppet and why did it look like me?"

"Oh, that," Naruko realized and thanked because while the massage she got in the infirmary was by far the greatest thing the Uzumaki had ever felt even she knew that was a topic that should be discussed in a far more private setting. Therefore, Naruko gave a small cough before starting "Well, remember the construction ability I showed you today? I told Kakashi-sensei about it since I needed his help to make a gym in one of the empty apartments. After that, he reported back to Jiji, like a popper soldier should, given my status. Then, like the master shinobi he is, Jiji saw an opportunity to use this ability to fix and improve the academy's training ground. He even wrote up a contract and paid me half of the going rate upfront while also counting this as an official B-rank mission. Come to think of it I still have to collect the other half of the payment. Better pass by Jiji's office tomorrow after Sasuke fails his challenge."

"Oh," Hinata thought in amazement at how versatile the Uzumaki's abilities had turned out to be. However, the Hyuga soon had to push those thoughts down as she wanted answers. "But that still doesn't explain why you were fighting that thing alone? Weren't you being watched over by guards in case trouble like that happened?"

"Actually, ANBU were stationed around the training area to protect me and give advice for things I didn't know. Kakashi-sensei even stayed there too to assess my progress as he had worked on a few construction projects before. Then, as you saw on the rooftop, in **Building Mode** things just materialized or make themselves in a matter of seconds so the remodeling didn't take more than a couple of hours. Plus, it turns out that my shadow clones can also use it in conjunction with me which reduced labor time even more," Naruko explained. "As for why I was fighting for my life?" At this, the whiskered girl scratched the back of her head with embarrassment with an equally nervously laugh.

"Hehe, funny story that. It wasn't supposed to be a battle for survival. I had come back early in the morning to check in to see if I had left anything and is if I could fix it quickly. It was here that I found out I had access to some hidden storage room in the academy which, out of curiosity, I checked out. That's where I found those puppets and took them out. After quick scanning, I learned that they were used in years past to simulate combat against real opponents and that you could even set it to different difficulties. Seeing this my plan had been to fight one of them as our class came in. Then it would both showoff my current skills and what we students could expect when facing the puppets. However, thinking back on it now I may have broken it when I was testing the difficulty nub by moving it to the different settings and everything. After having moved it all the way up it got stuck and I had to use more force than need to move it back down. I guess that snapping sound had been caused for concern instead of ignoring as I did. But hindsight is twenty-twenty as they say," Naruko finished with a shrug.

"I see. Wait, that still doesn't explain why did it look like me?"

"Yeah… That," the blonde commented before looking at bit ashamed before she lifted her hands as if to calm the situation. "Don't be mad at me, okay? It seems that when I use those things a new option appears where it uses a thing called _Hard Light Holograms_ over the dolls to create a body resembling any opponent, I've faced in the past whether I've defeated them or not. At the same time, the system implants it with the fighting data I have about the opponent and fills in some of the gaps with logic. Well, since I still wanted to challenge myself, I chose you was the shell since you're the strongest opponent I've face to date. I wanted to see how I stacked up to you now that I went up a few levels. However, given how it malfunctioned all I can say is that I just learn how to take a punch and outlast someone by being more stubborn than a mule."

"You truly think I'm the strongest?" Hinata asked in surprise as she felt a sense of price burn inside her chest. In response to the question, Naruko grinned with both confidence and enjoyment.

"Heck yeah, I do! Even Duckbutt hasn't managed to beat me in a fight as easily as you did. And don't say the awakening helped you because that was just you finally going all out instead of holding back," the whiskered girl proclaimed with an excited grin. Then it turned into a shy smile as a blush dusted her face. "But seriously, right now you're like my goal. Not because I lost our fight but because you right now represent someone that has finally decided to make the world hers and not afraid to show them who they truly are."

"But I'm only like this because of you," Hinata answered back in a gentle tone. Hearing those words the Uzumaki blink in surprise. Having the girl's attention, Hinata took a deep breath before exhaling and bared her soul out. "Naru-kun, ever since you saved me all of those years ago on that winter day from those bullies, I've been watching you. You can call it stalking if you want but ever since that day your presence has captured me. My eyes have seen you take on a world that hates you and even when it looked like nothing would change you persevered. In the beginning, everyone in this village hated you yet through your own actions you managed to carve both a home and a support group. I've heard adults say that your mere presence will bring ruin to those near you yet that devil may care attitude and refusal to backdown of yours has made people notice.

Sandaime-sama, Iruka-sensei, the Ichiraku family, Shikamaru-san, Choji-san, Ino-chan, Kurenai-sensei, Hatake-sensei, the employs here at Mint Lily, Benihime-chan and myself included are all people that have come to care for you, Naru-kun. I've heard time and again how weak and pathetic I am. That I'm nothing but a failure and for years I believe it but seeing you keep on standing back up, training, improving either by small or large margins and fighting against such negativity inspired me. Those that do not know you tend to compare you to people like Uchiha-san and call you a failure like its all you'll ever amount to. But, in my eyes you're so much more than that to the point I would call you a proud failure! When I look at you, I get an intense feeling in my heart. Because you are not perfect. Because you fail. Because you still have the strength to get back up. Because I believe that's what true strength is. The power to admit one's weakness and resolve to overcome it!"

Naruko didn't know what to say about this. What could she say? Hinata had not only confessed her feeling but admitted that the Uzumaki had been a source of inspiration. No one had ever said something even remotely similar to Naruko and it made her heart skip a beat. Time and again the whiskered girl had wondered during those lonely nights if she was doing the right thing. Was she actually achieving something or was it all just a kid throwing a temper tantrum? Thankfully Hinata had just answered that _**yes****,**_ she was making a difference. She had made friends, help people and at least to the Hyuga become a source of strength and inspiration. The feelings this brought her were hard to put into words but as tears started to flow down her face, Naruko could at least grin and say they were of joy. Even as Hinata moved to her side and help to dry her eyes Naruko couldn't help but chuckle at the warmth she felt inside her. And to think this was thanks to saving the princess from some bullies a couple of winters back?

'_Wait a moment,_' Naruko's mind suddenly stops at that last thought. '_I saved her for bullies during winter?_' she repeated in confusion which was mirrored by Hinata, who was now sitting at her right with a napkin. '_But… But the only time I did that… was with…_' Naruko told herself while turning to look at Hinata's face. For an instant she could have sworn she saw something but she wasn't sure. Hence the Uzumaki forced her mind to dig up that long-past memory. Then once found it played back like an old afternoon anime as she saw her failure to beat up Goto and his group. Yet that wasn't important now as Naruko reacted the point she talked to the girl they had made cry. Blue hair cut short with two strands framing the face, fair-skinned like noble, and… lavender pupilless eyes. "Oh. My. God… It was you…"

"Huh?" Hinata reacted confused. One moment her crush was crying out of happiness that next to the Uzumaki was looking at her like trying to solve a puzzle and now the whiskered was staring at her with wide blue eyes while pointing in shock.

"You… you're that cute girl I saved during that winter. You… You're the reason I'm gay," Naruko declared dumfounded and mouth a gap as it finally clicked. Or more like they finally cracked her ultra-dense skull open with a sledgehammer, but that's just semantics at this point.

"W-W-What?" Hinata shuttered and blushed at being called cute out of the blue like that. Having caught herself saying that Naruko's blushed scarlet and hide her face in her hands as steam escaped her skull. It took a couple of moments for the two to managed to recollect themselves. It was during this time that their drinks had been silently delivered which they thanked because their throats were very dry at the moment.

"I didn't know it was you until now," Naruko finally said after placing her glass of water down. However, her eyes didn't leave the glass as the memory played back to her. Her blush was still there but she could now see the humor in their current situation. '_To think, I've been searching for that girl for years and she was always there looking. That's the second time I realized Hinata was always there for me,_' she thought happily before continuing to talk "When I helped that cutie, I did it because I just saw people being mean to someone else for no reason and it pisses me off. But then, like two days later, I had a dream about me completely beating up those bullies and that super cute giving me a hug that felt warm and nice!" the Uzumaki confessed with a grin and then chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that was the moment I started to notice how pretty the girls around me were."

"Y-Y-You t-t-thought I w-w-was c-c-cute b-b-back t-t-then?" Hinata asked as her shutter came back with a vengeance.

"Yep! And still are too," Naruko answered with a laugh and a peck on the cheek. Then she stared into those wonderful lavender eyes with as much love as she could. "I don't know if it's possible to fall in love with someone in a dream but I do know that having that dream was a turning point or me. After that dream, I found myself more than once admiring girls and women while thinking they looked pretty or cute. Pretty sure I even had crushes on a few of them like Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, and definitely Kiba's mom. Even when girls started talking about boys like Sasuke I never felt that. Sure, I _can _tell Sasuke is good looking but I could easily point out at 10 girls in the whole academy that looked prettier than him," she ended in a burst of giggles that quickly infected Hinata. "Damn. Sorry. I'm rambling," Naruko said while trying to stop the laugh. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you captured me that day too. But I was just too stupid and dense to realize it until you had to point it out to me after all of these years."

"Naruko," the Hyuga princess whispered lovingly.

"Hinata," the Uzumaki whispered back gently.

"I like you!" both girls declared at the same time like a couple of dorks. This, of course, resulted in both having another bout of laughter as they basked in the happiness of their own world.

'_Well,_' the forgotten Benihime thought to herself while taking another picture of the two for the collection. '_I would have preferred for them to interact more before they would become a couple but I guess they move at their own pace. Thankfully in life, unlike mangas and videogames, the kiss isn't the endgame but the start._'

X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

**A/N:**

I hope you all like this chapter.

I know that the NaruHina train just went full speed past the _Dear Friends_ station but what can you do after one gave that big O to the other? Thankfully I tried to get the girls to have a heart to heart and hopefully, this comes out as something resembling romance. I hope you readers like it.


	16. Walking a Mile

**Chapter 16: Walking a Mile**

(Next day – After school)

[Ninja Academy – upperclassmen bathroom]

Sasuke was annoyed or was it angry? No scratched that, he was livid as he saw the reflection of Naruko Uzumaki glaring back at him in the mirror.

Yesterday night the Uchiha had trained, planned and mentally prepared for anything the Dead Last would come up with to beat him. By morning today, he had thought nothing would surprise him. Yet the moment the girl appeared she just threw him a package while saying "Hold on to that. You'll need it after school," all the while sporting a devilish smirk as she walked away. Letting his curiosity get the best of him Sasuke had tried to open the box wrapped like a gift with a clock-face on top of it. There was a letter below the clock-face labeled **[INSTRUCTIONS]** written in bold red. The moment he pulled at the top he got shocked and the clock started ticking down.

Realizing this was probably one of the Uzumaki's renowned traps, Sasuke decided to wait it out. However, that didn't stop him from trying to get Naruko to tell him about the challenge. Regretfully for him any of his questions were answered with chuckles, knowing grins, smirks or "Just wait, _~Sasuke-kun~_. It's going to be fun." It made Sasuke grind his teeth at how well the supposed loudmouth without an indoor voice was managing to remain silent just to mess with him. Although part of him, which Sasuke vehemently refused to acknowledge, was impressed with the girl's ability to get under his skin with just a couple of facial expressions and words.

Yet, nothing, absolutely goddamn fucking nothing in this world prepared him for the situation he found himself in now. After school ended the timer stopped and the box was released. The first thing Sasuke did was open and read the instructions which ordered him to go to one of the upper bathrooms to change into items provided. Like an idiot, he did so and took off his shirt and pants before looking inside the box. By the time he had opened the box and realized the mistake Sasuke was already in his underwear and Naruko had somehow managed to spirit away his other clothing. Not wanting to go through the humiliation of running around in his boxers, the Uchiha was forced to follow the next set of instructions.

This was the reason he now found himself staring at the visage of Naruko Uzumaki in the mirror instead of his own. The girl had made him wear one of her old orange jumpsuits with a black shirt underneath the jacket alongside a mask of her face, blue contact lenses and a blond wigs style in her old pigtails. Naruko had even provided makeup so Sasuke could paint his arms, hands, legs, and feet to match her darker skin tone. Hence the _Genin of the Year_ was now the spitting image of the old _Dead Last_ with the exception of him being taller and his ever-present frown which looked out of place on the normally cheerful whiskered girl's face.

"I swear if this is just a prank..." Sasuke muttered in a near-perfect imitation of Naruko's voice. Hey, if he had to go through the trouble of making his naturally pale skin match the girl's admittedly nice-looking tan, why not go all the way with the disguise? Besides, he needed to put into practice those vocal lessons he was forced to take as an elective. Now with this done the fake Uzumaki walked towards his destination which was behind the school. However, as he walked the fake couldn't help but notice how the other students were reacting. At first, Sasuke thought he missed something about the costume like the wig not being placed correctly, make-up being smeared or mask not aligning then heard someone the louder students.

"Dude! Move, it's that monster!"

"Shut up, man! She'll kill you with that scythe of hers!"

"I heard that someone paid an assassin to kill her and she cut them up to ribbons."

"I heard she brought the assassin to her class. She was probably trying to kill Sasuke-kun!"

"Dude, my bro was in that class. He said she got her arm ripped off and grew back! She really is a demon!"

"My friend saw the demon get punched through the stomach and all it did was make her laugh! Dad was right, the Hokage should have killed her while she was weak. Now she's immortal!"

"We can't let our guard down. Now that she has a taste for blood, she'll want more."

Okay, Sasuke wasn't much for gossip and he didn't really get the appeal but he had to marvel at who quickly rumors spread and morphed. Sure, Naruko had a pension for causing trouble, messes and, if the rare rumors were to be believed, had a love for explosions but she never showed a thirst for blood. His brother had demonstrated what that looked like and the small Uzumaki had never come close to that. Hence, why Sasuke was starting to truly think he was surrounded by idiots that couldn't tell what real danger was. Still, Sasuke did his best to ignore the stupidity up until someone bumped into his shoulder. The Uchiha couldn't put a name to the male student's face but he did recognize the boy was one of the designated bullies in the school. Hence, he completely ignored the boy and his party as they started yelling about pain, medical bills or something. The fake Uzumaki didn't pay any attention until he found himself blocked by another student who was glaring. The disguised Uchiha sighed at figuring out what was happening.

"Seriously?" the fake Naruko asked disappointedly with a raised eyebrow. "Are we really doing the whole "You hurt me now you have to pay my medical bills" shtick? Fine, let's do this then," the fake Naruko said while cracking his knuckles. "Question is: Which of you clowns do I use to show this circus what a real dislocated shoulder looks like?"

"W-W-Wait, you would actually f-f-fight us?" the boy blocking the hidden Uchiha's way asked with surprise.

"Fight you? Please, we're just going to flip a coin on whether you let me walk or you limp your way to the hospital," S-Naruko announced as he took a step towards the bully. As an added bonus the hidden Uchiha envisioned the boy as Itachi and released the strongest glare he could. This unknowingly also launched a small dose of _Killing Intent_ onto the boy. The bully's eyes widened in fear as the Uzumaki started walking towards him and when they were two steps away the boy jumped out of the way in fright. The boy then fell onto the ground, curled into a ball and started crying begging for mercy. "Pathetic," the blonde was heard saying while walking passed the crying bully. Seeing this everyone else moved as far away as they could so "she" could pass without intervention. Sasuke for his part smirked as even though he knew this would increase the Uzumaki's credit he couldn't deny that making weakling like these cower was very rewarding. Still not wanting to lose any more time on more foolishness the Uchiha took a shortcut through one of the open windows in one of the empty classrooms. Moments later Sasuke found himself in the meeting area.

"Why are you wearing that orange monstrosity again baka? I thought you finally got a sense of fashion," Sakura asked as she along with Ino and Hinata stared at Sasuke who raised an eyebrow in response.

"That's not Naru-kun. She's going to turn the corner with Iruka-sensei and Suzume-sensei in a couple of moments," Hinata announced with her Byakugan activated.

"So, she made another of her clones then but with that crime against eyes? Wonder why?" Ino asked before walking towards the "clone" and examined it. The group saw the girl circle around the fake Uzumaki before she stopped to lock eyes with the clone.

"What's wrong Ino?" Sakura asked after feeling the stare down had gone for far too long.

"Oh, nothing really," the Yamanaka answered with a smile as she took a step back and took off her circlet.

"Good. Now we-" the Naruko clone had tried to start before he was hit in the face. Well, at least to him it felt like he had been punched as his back slammed onto the wall. However, Sasuke couldn't understand how such a thing was possible given that Ino had not moved towards him and now there was a pressure both lifting and pinning him to the wall. Worst yet, as much as he fought the pressure barely budged.

"What's happening?!" Sakura asked in both surprise and distress as she saw the fake apparently being thrown back by the Yamanaka's glare. Then the heiress pulled out a kunai and pressed it to the fake's neck. "Ino! What are you doing?!"

"What I have to," Ino answered while glaring at the fake. "I have no idea who you are but you completely failed to imitate Pumpkin. For starters, now that Naruko has a way to get new clothes, not even she would wear that orange monstrosity again. Second, as much of a tomboy as Naruko is she still walks with a small sway of the hips that every female has given our lower center of gravity. And finally, your eyes are too different from hers. Both Hinata-chan and I have talked to her clones before and while those things look to have even fewer brain cells than her they still keep that idiot's beautiful eyes that are full of life and love for others. Yours, on the other hand, are full of anger, hate and even disdain for me when I looked you over."

"Guess I have to work on that," S-Naruko growled out in defiance. That only earned him an unexciting strong punch to the gut that both left him breathless and very slightly cracked the wall behind him.

"Stop using her voice you prick," Ino order with a frown. "I'm the one in control now. So, you're only going to talk when I tell you. Am I clear?" Whatever could have been said after this was forgotten thanks to a loud whistle. Everyone turned to see a purple-eyed girl with glasses in a burnt orange t-shirt, black pants, combat boots and a familiar black jacket with orange fox hoodie that was pulled up over her orange hair. The purple-eyed girl also sported a wicked grinned as she stared at the scene which was in contrast to the slacked-jaws of Iruka-sensei and Suzume-sensei.

"I have to say… When I made Sasuke wear a disguise of me I did expect pain in his near future but him getting beaten up by one of his fans is WAY better. I'll have to buy you something as thanks for that Violet," the real Naruko Uzumaki commented with a chuckle at the end. '_**Scan!**__ Well, will you look at that? It seems Ino-chan's psionic abilities __let her create__ invisible hands that she can use to incapacitate her opponents. I wonder what her reach with those arms __is? And __how much she c__an__ lift with them?_'

"Wait… You told Sasuke-kun… to disguise himself… as you?" Ino asked as her mind tried to process that information. A task that took a bit more time given how most of her mental power was directed to holding the fake to the wall. A second after things clicked her eyes widened and she stared at the boy's eyes. Everyone that watched the two ended up raising an eyebrow in curiosity as Ino's face seemed to twist in disgust for a brief moment before it sculpted itself into a mask of neutrality. Then she backed away while putting on her amethyst circlet on which dispel what was holding Sasuke captured. Weirder still, the girl had yet to put her kunai away as if she still needed it to defend herself.

"Not going to say sorry?" Sasuke, still using Naruko's voice, inquired with a frown after landing back on his feet. '_What the hell kind of jutsu was that? It felt like she was pushing with her full power but she didn't make a single hand-seal!_'

"No. Hinata-chan informed me that the person before us was not Naruko. Thus, I examined what I thought was one of her clones and acted in our defense when I realized it was not. I see no reason why I should ask forgiveness over natural acting in self-defense and trying to protect my fellow kunoichi, Uchiha-san," the Yamanaka answered neutrally.

'_Uchiha-san?!_' everyone asked themselves after hearing the coldness in the fangirl's voice.

"I see you used that mirror of yours to change your hair and eye color. Guess, you really want to be a pumpkin, huh?" Ino joked towards the real Uzumaki who was caught off-guard for a moment by the now friendly tone the girl was using.

'_Okay… What did I miss? Ino-chan has never been that cold to Duckbutt before. It almost sounded like she… hated him? Maybe it has to do with that disgusted look she got for a moment ago? Oh well, I'll ask her later,_' Naruko thought with a shrug and then answered "Yeah, I went back home for a quick change. Even applied make-up so my whisker marks aren't visible." After saying this she lowered her hoodie to show her cheeks. Sure enough, the six scars were gone and between that, straight orange hair, glasses, and purple eyes the girl was almost unrecognizable. "Anyway, Sasuke Uchiha, are you ready for your challenge?"

The disguised Uchiha just crossed his arm over his chest and nodded with a dismissive grunt. Faster than the genin could react Naruko appeared behind the boy and smacked the back of his head. Understandably Sasuke growled in anger and took a swing that the girl easily deflected with one hand much to his surprise. Thus, he left himself open to a kick to the stomach that knocked the wind out of him and pushed him a few inches back. The worst part was that Sasuke knew that Naruko was holding back because he had been on the receiving end of one of her real kicks. "Now that your pride is sufficiently hurt," Naruko started with a grin. "I'll compliment you on looking so good as me. That mask helps me forget that ugly face of yours."

"Hey! Sasuke-kun isn't ugly!" Sakura yelled.

"Yeah. Yeah," Naruko said with a dismissive hand gesture. This, however, didn't mean that she didn't notice Ino's lack of response to the insult. '_Okay, now I have to ask her about that,_' she thought while starting her speech. "Now Uchiha-san, while you have managed to get my looks and voice right you haven't gotten my personality nailed down or at least the one I like to show people. Therefore, first of all, no frowning! People will be even more hostile towards you if they don't think you're a fool."

"Is that what you call it?"

"Well duh! Why do you think I'm always grinning from ear to ear around people? Nothing makes an adult more unguarded than an utterly stupid grinning kid that seems to have just enough brain cells to choke to death on the air she's breathing! And thanks to them not realizing this fraud they have no idea that this waste of space is actually watching and listening in on all of their dark little secrets. Secrets that she silently gathers over time just waiting for the perfect moment to unleash them in such a way that it utterly destroys them! No, destroys them and makes them complete social pariahs hated by those they love. Oh, the beauty of it," Naruko finished with an evil cackle which was quickly shut down by a punch to the head thanks to Iruka.

"What have I told you about laughing maniacally?" the scarred teacher reprimanded.

"To only do it when no one is looking so they don't think I'm insane," the Uzumaki droned out with fake shame. "Oh! On a related note. One of the best ways to destroy someone's career is to splash them with a bucket full of alcohol after you successfully speared rumors of them being alcoholic _**and**_ you managed to intrigue the boss enough to look and find the secret stash bottles that you had placed there for such an occasion."

"Uzumaki-san, that was oddly specific," Suzume commented judgingly before her eyes went wide. "Oh, dear Log. You're the one that got Matsumo-sensei fired!"

"That's what they got him for? Huh, and all of this time I thought it was the picture of half-naked boys I found inside his desk when I was trying to put a spring pie trap in it," the Uzumaki said off-handedly much to everyone's horror. Though for the senseis it did finally clicked just _why_ the Sandaime himself came that day had come by that day to collect the "drunk" teacher while having the look of an executioner. "Anyway," Naruko called out while turning back to Sasuke. "As I said before: You have to grin like a fool for everyone and when it comes to adults do not talk back at all. No matter how much an adult will insult or berate you in no way, shape or form are you ever allowed to talk back to an adult. At most what you can say is things like "I'm sorry, sir/ma'am", "Forgive me, sir/ma'am", "It was an accident sir/ma'am", or "It wouldn't happen again sir/ma'am." All the while you either grin like an idiot or look like a pathetic street urchin who was abandoned by the family as just what a waste of space she was."

"That… That doesn't sound right," Sakura mutters somewhat worried about what this implies about her trouble-making classmate. Then she found herself taking a step back thanks to the withering glare Naruko was directing at her general direction.

"Some of us aren't born with the luxury of affording something as expressive as self-worth, Haruno-san," the now carrot-head commented with held back anger. Then with a neutral voice, she turned back the Uchiha. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah, being a walking doormat. After hearing this you might be asking yourself "what about defending myself?" Well, that's the fun part! You simply don't," she announced with a devilish grin much to everyone's confusion and worry. "See, if an adult were to attack you physically unless they're using something like a bladed weapon or say an explosive, you aren't allowed to fight back at all. Even then it's best to create a distraction so you can run away because the moment you do attack you have given the perfect excuse to kill you. Reasons for this being "The demon brat finally showed her true colors! She was trying to kill me! I just defended myself!" or something similar."

"No one could be that stupid," Sasuke said before he could stop himself. No sooner had the words left his mouth that he was on the receiving end of a mocking lock. Then Naruko just lifted her shirt enough to show her classmates the scar where her liver is located. Hinata had seen yesterday she had not paid attention to it during the chakra extraction process. Thus she felt even more uncomfortable upon learning a possible meaning behind that scar.

"I have a medical document that says otherwise, Duckbutt. So, for your safety, I suggest you follow this rule because I don't want to spend this whole day bailing you out of trouble," Naruko said and let the shirt fall back into place. "Okay. Now that you know how to be me we can get to the rules of the challenge. These rules are as followed:

One - follow the rules of being Naruko Uzumaki.

Two - the items on the list must be collected through a completely legal process. That means no stealing but don't worry I'll reimburse you for any monetary loss caused due to buying these items.

Three - Iruka-sensei and Suzume-sensei will follow you as you traverse around the shopping district collecting/buying the items on the list. They will stop you from stealing and as punishment you will have to give them the monetary value of the said item as if you had paid for it. This means fewer funds for buying the others.

Four - the list will have 50 items in it but you only need to collect 10 of them to finish and win this challenge.

Five - the girls and I will hear all of your interactions as well as talk to you through these paired short-range radios. _***Hands Sasuke his radio***_

And finally, number six - the challenge will end at six O'clock pm at which point you and the senseis will meet us at Ichiraku Ramen to examine the items you've collected and judge if they are enough to win the challenge."

"That's it? That's all this supposed challenge is? A stupid scavenger-hunt?" Sasuke asked with displeasure as everyone else raised an eyebrow. Then they hear _the_ chuckle.

"_~Oh, Sasuke-kun~._ I call this more of a shopping list. One that you will have to complete while being me," Naruko finished by flickering Sasuke nose.

"Hmph, this will be easy," the disguised boy proclaimed.

"_~We'll see~,_" the Uzumaki sang while crossing her fingers and six clouds of smoke surrounded the group.

"What the hell are you doing loser?"

"Hey! Let's go, you pervert!"

"What are you doing Uzumaki-san?"

"Oh boy. Don't look down Forehead/Suzume-san."

"Eep!"

This is what the members of the group said when the clones hugged them right before they experienced the miracles of the Zoom spell. The three who had experienced this before either closed their eyes or enjoyed the view. The other three, however, had the same horrifying time as any first-timer. Then the group landed just at the entrance of the Market District and as every time before it took the new passengers a few moments to not feel like they were about to die.

"Uzumaki-san," Suzume called out while Iruka helped her stand up from the dizzy spell. "What was that just now?"

"The jutsu is officially called Zoom but I just call it Fast Travel because that's literally what it does. Its mechanics are that so long as I know the area, I can travel to it by concentrating and visualizing it. The scroll I read it from also explains that I need a calm mind and not be surrounded by danger to be able to perform it without me ending up crashing into something."

"Wait, didn't you do it when you were fighting Goto?" Ino inquired while also helping Sakura who still looked a little pale.

"I never considered that bully a danger," Naruko answered with a shrugged before looking at Sasuke. The mask did a perfect job of hiding the boy's current complexion but the glare of discomfort in his eyes made her smirk. "Anyway, here is the list of things you need to acquire," she said while pulling and handing the paper to the Uchiha. "Hope you fail, Duckbutt!"

Sasuke grunted but grabbed the paper as he got up. Taking a quick glance over it revealed that indeed it was a shopping list of everyday items and supplies one would need for the week. Of course, this made him audibly grumble which earn him another smack on the back of the head and a reminder of the rules. Sasuke knew Naruko had been trying to get a rise out of him on that one so he used every bit of will power to bury the anger and smile just like she mentioned.

"I smile like this, right?" he asked and got a thumbs up. After this, the group separated in two as they merged with the market crowd.

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[With the girls]

"I don't get your challenge at all Naruko. It's just shopping. What could possibly be hard about shopping? You may as well give Sasuke-kun want he was at this point," Sakura commented as the girls walked to one the clothing stores with outside displays.

"It's simple, really. Uchiha-sama wants to know a technique from a weak and pathetic street urchin he must learn what it's like to be Naruko Uzumaki first," the carrot head answered while keeping her eyes locked on her copy at the other side of the street. She also had her fox hoodie back up to maximize her disguise. It wouldn't do good for her plan for today if people recognize her.

"Sasuke-kun doesn't think you're like that," the emerald-eyed girl was quick to defend.

"Don't fool yourself, Forehead. The only people that didn't think that were Hinata-chan, Shika, Choji-kun and maybe Aburame-san. Still can't get a read on that guy yet though," Ino scoffed while absentmindedly looking at the selection thought they could tell her mind was elsewhere.

"Don't beat yourself up, Ino-chan. You made a mistake but now you're making an effort to change that," Hinata assured by patting her friends back. This got her a small thanks from the Yamanaka and a chuckle from the Uzumaki.

"Yeah, what our Hime said. Besides, you were never a bitch to me unlike other people I know," she said while giving a quick pointed look at the pinkette. The girl realized this and had to bite the insult she was about to bark back since it would have proven Uzumaki's point. "By the way, I didn't say it back in the academy but call me Naru or Na-chan for today. That way people don't make a connection with who I am, okay?"

"Are you sure that will really work, Naru-kun?" Hinata questioned and got a shrug in response.

"When you spend most of your time ignoring someone's existence it becomes very easy to forget how that person looks. Now stay silent! Our Naruko is about to enter one of the shops."

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[With Sasuke who will now be referenced to as S-Naruko when talking to others outside the group.]

S-Naruko looked at the list and decided to start with the nonperishable items. Thus, he walked towards one of the shops that should have most of the things. Both of the senseis put their ninja training to work and entered the store without being seen by civilians or students for that matter.

"Welcome to our- What are _you_ doing here?" the female greeter sneered upon noticing who entered.

"What?" S-Naruko muttered in surprise at the amount of venom he felt in the woman's voice. '_What is her problem?_'

"You heard me, monster. What makes you think your kind is welcomed here?" the woman questioned while using her full height for intimidation. Then when she noticed this didn't work "SECURITY! THIEF!" The disguised student's jaw almost dropped at the woman's actions. However, seeing some guards already approaching the scene the boy cut his losses and ran out of the store followed by the equally shocked teachers. Once out the team entered a small alley to get out of sight. The Uchiha, still in disbelief, tapped his radio to speak.

"Loser, what the hell was that about?!" he had demanded as the chunin listened in. To the trio's surprise and concern they only receive laughter on the other end.

[HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, dear Log! You couldn't even get three feet in! BUWAHAHAHAHA! YOU SUCK! HAHAHAHA!]

"What are the chances that she paid people to be like that?" the disguised boy asked after clicking off the audio on his radio. The locks of anger and worry on the senseis told him that option was out of the question. '_True. She doesn't have the money to bribe someone. That was probably a one-off,_' he thought and decided to look for another shop. This time he went to a butcher shop where he did manage to enter and even get a number to wait for service. Then as the Uchiha waited he finally noticed the people. After what Sasuke had been through not many things could make him uncomfortable. However, it was unnerving seeing the clear hatred in people's eyes when looking at him. '_No… It's Naruko they're glaring at. But why? I know she's annoying but that doesn't explain the hate. It's almost like they… as if they want her dead? No, I must be imagining things. There's no way such a thing is true._'

"Number 238! Number 238! I repeat, number 238!" one of the butchers called out which snapped the boy out of his thinking. Noticing that it was his turn, the fake Uzumaki stepped up. Regretfully the clerk was also looking down with utter hate in their eyes. "What do you want demon-bitch?"

"I-I-I'm here to buy some-"

"Enough! I don't want to hear your voice. You know the rules. 15 silver upfront and we'll see what scraps we can get for you."

'_The hell?! I just want some meat, not the whole fucking store,_' Sasuke thought in disbelief at hearing the exaggerated price. Sure, he had people buy supplies for him but even then he could tell that was too expensive. "Sir, that too much-"

"I said shut up!" the man screamed with the other people seemingly agreeing in the background. "You really are an idiot. By now you should know your ilk is not wanted here. I'm doing you a favor by not kicking you out. It would be best for all of us if you paid your tax and get the fuck out with what we find."

"B-B-But is too much money, sir," S-Naruko stuttered with a forced grin.

"Then get the fuck out of here! No money means no service! Kamis, I can't understand why the Hokage keeps you alive," the man screamed and then called out to the next numbers without a second thought. When the butcher saw the whisker girl not move he glared and was about to scream again when another voice spoke.

"Please sir, there's no need to yell," a woman said while walking forward. Sasuke didn't know her name but recognized her as the mother of an academy student. "I'll buy her some scraps," she added with a smile and placed a single copper coin on the counter.

'_Finally! Someone decent!_' both Sasuke and Suzume thought. However, that feeling soon soured as they noticed a knowing smirk appeared on the butcher's face. Hence, the fake Uzumaki turned to leave but almost immediately found themselves blocked by the other adults and the woman's hand on his shoulder.

"Dear, please don't leave. I'm buying your food. At least show some respect and wait," the mother said with a sickly sweet tone. However, once more Sasuke could feel the disdain flowing from this adult.

"Sorry, ma'am," S-Naruko mumbled also in reflex and forced himself to wait.

"Here. Thanks for the business," the butcher said moments later with a black plastic bag that couldn't be anything else but a trash bag.

"You're welcome, dear!" the woman exclaimed in happiness at seeing the bag. "Now, why don't you take it with you? And please be a going little girl and say thank you. I paid good money for you," she said in a still friendly manner but the nails almost breaking through the orange jacket said something else.

[Ah, ah, ah. Remember rule one, Sasuke-kun. _~ No fighting. ~_] Sasuke could hear Naruko's voice saying through his earpiece. Even so, it took every bit of his will to not rip the woman's arm and shove it down her throat. It took even more to swallow the insults he wanted to say.

"T-T-Thank you, everyone," S-Naruko said with the most forced grin he had ever given. Then in one smooth movement pulled out a storage scroll and sealed the bag before pivoting on his heels to speed-walked out of the store.

"Stop right there, demon!" someone else yelled and stopped in front of the exit. This man, who Sasuke knew he could take-down with a single punch given the stench of alcohol, glared down as if the kid before him wasn't even worth their air. "The lady wasted her hard-earned money on you. Go back there and bow to her. Scum like you shouldn't raise their head."

[Do it. He's not worth it,] Naruko's calm voice spoke and breathed of any humor. It was the only thing that stopped Sasuke from pulling out his kunai and gutting the pig in front of him. Thus, while shaking with rage, S-Naruko turned around, walked to the woman and bowed low with a forced "thanks" as the group of adults laughed at the Uzumaki being put in her place. [Good. Now just get out but don't forget to smile,] Naruko said and Sasuke did just that. Yet that didn't stop the drunkard from spitting at the back of his head.

"Oh! There you are Naruko-chan. Thanks for buying the meat for today," Iruka called out as he "entered" the meat shop. He then placed a hand on the disguised student's shoulder and guided them out. At the same time, he threw a good amount of KI at the entire group of civilians along with a burning glare that made a few of the civilians wet their pants in terror. Then once they were out of the store Iruka could see and feel the boy shaking with pure rage so he quickly moved them to a back alley. Once they were out of sight Sasuke exploded.

At first, it started with a rage-filled scream and when that didn't help, he kicked the nearest thing. This had been a sturdy-looking metal trash can that the Uchiha managed dent easily as it crashed into a wall. Next, he used it as target practice as he threw kunai and shuriken at it with enough force for some to impale the metal. Regretfully his rage demanded more and to the surprise of the senseis, the Uchiha let loose a giant fireball on the abused trash can. It took Iruka using a water jutsu to make the flames subsided which showed trash can had almost melted completely onto the wall and ground.

"What _***pant***_ What the **hell** was _***pant***_ that?" Sasuke growled through gulps of air. "What _***pant***_ the hell? _***pant***_ Those fucking…" he tried to say as his brain was processing what just happened. Never, absolutely never, had he felt that humiliated in his life. Not even in the months after realizing that Itachi only spared him out of petty for being a weakling did Sasuke feel this insult. '_What is their fucking problem?! What makes them __think__ they're better than me?! How could they think their standing is better __than__ mine?! I'm the last Uchiha is fucking village! If anyone __should__ be bowing their head in shame is them not me! I'm Sasuke fucking Uchiha not some pathetic waste of space!_'

"Uchiha-san," Sasuke heard Suzume-sensei called out softly but he ignored it. He couldn't speak right now as his mind was filled with thoughts of the violence and brutal vengeance he would enact on those fools. Those bastards called him a fool, a weakling and a monster? Oh, they haven't seen anything yet! Yes, as the last Uchiha of Konohagakure saw the reflection of Naruko Uzumaki staring back at in the puddle of water he bowed vengeance. No one, absolutely no one, made a fool out of him and got away with it. There would be justice, pain and vengeance for Naruko Uzumaki will not take this lying down!

"Wait… what?" Sasuke asked himself in surprise as he stared back at the reflection of the girl he had been imitating. '_No… it's not me,_' he finally realized as the whiskered face stared back at him. Those people weren't making fun or humiliating Sasuke Uchiha for they wouldn't even dare do such a thing to the prize child of the village. No, instead those two-face bottom feeders went for the lone orphan as the target of their hate. For a fleeting moment, Sasuke asked himself '_Why would they __hate__ the girl this much?_' but then the memory of what he just experienced hit Sasuke. His anger boiled back to the surface as he realized that something was beyond wrong with this image. '_Naruko can be annoying but this is just wrong. They treat her like she was a waste and that butcher practically said the Hokage should just kill her. There is something more going on and I intend to find out,_' the boy bowed before clicking his radio to talk. "Naruko, I want to talk _now_."

[S-S-Sasuke-kun?] another responded with a tremble.

"Haruno-san? Why are you answering? Where's Naruko?" Sasuke asked, recognizing the voice of the pinkette. Normally he wouldn't want to associate with a fangirl but right now she appeared to be the one available. It also helps that ever since the wall climbing exercise the commonly known _Kunoichi of the Year_ hadn't been acting as completely useless around him.

[I… I don't know. After she told you to get out, she threw the radio at me and a bag of money to Ino. Then she said to tell you that the challenge was postponed for now and that we should meet up at Ichikaru Ramen to wait for her before she disappeared,] Sakura answered with worry. Then in a low voice, she added [Sasuke-kun, are you okay? We heard everything and it was awful.]

"It wasn't me that people were trying to hurt," the Uchiha snapped rather harshly out of reflex and misplaced anger.

[R-R-Right… I'm sorry…] Sakura answered back in a very small voice.

'_Dammit. Now I do feel like the scum of the earth. Great job there Sasuke! Here is a girl genuinely worrying about you and you decided it's the perfect time to berate her. Well done, you asshole! Mom would be so __proud of you__,_' Sasuke chastised himself at hearing the hurt in his classmate's voice. "No. I'm the one that should say sorry. Thank you for worrying," he said as gently as he could. He could almost see the girl perking up through the audio.

[Oh, hehe, well, you're important to me Sasuke-kun,] Sakura claimed to be a little happier. Sasuke was thankful they couldn't see each other because for the first time since his mother's death a girl's laugh has managed to make him feel warm. Then the pinkette continued [Still, what was that? The way those adults acted… it was so scary. Is that what Naruko has to deal with each day? Are… Are… Sasuke-kun, are we like that to her? Do we… Is that what we do to her at school?]

"I don't know. But I intend to find out."

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[One hour later]

[Ichiraku's Ramen Stand]

"Where is she?" Sasuke growled for what felt like the hundredth time.

Just as the Uzumaki had told them the group reached the girl's favorite food stand and waited for her. Regretfully for Uchiha the way there forced him to once more face all of the glares from the adults and be unable to do anything about it. Worst yet was that this time since he knew they were there he couldn't ignore them like before. And while it wasn't terrifying the pressure of knowing everyone wanted to see your life to end was nerve-racking. It almost felt like he was waiting for the moment someone jumped out with the knife ready to cut his throat. The constant uneasiness became so overwhelming that once he reached the ramen stand, he took off the mask and tied the jacket around his waist so he wouldn't be seen as the Uzumaki. Still, just experiencing these few moments as the girl it made him wonder: Was this what Naruko dealt with every day? For how long has this been going on? And more importantly, why was it still happening? Shouldn't the Hokage have done something about by now?

"I'm sure Naruko-chan will be here soon. It's very rare for the girl to miss a chance to eat ramen," Teuchi Ichiraku, the owner of the ramen stall, said while he finished serving some of the customers.

"So true. It's almost as if she survives on our food exclusively," Ayamen, the man's daughter, announced while handing a bowl to Hinata. "Though what I want to know is when was it that my rambunctious tomboy of a little sister got such cuties for friends? Especially one that can match her bowl for bowl," she asked with a grin towards the girls and a more direct look at the Hyuga. Hinata blinked in confusion when she felt everyone's gaze on her and turned to look at them before noticing they were also observed that this was her sixth bowl.

"I-I-Its good," Hinata whispered with a small blush and proceeded to keep eating. The father and daughter duo just chuckled.

"Hey! Don't be ashamed! In fact, you should eat more. We actually have a trophy and prize money for anyone that can dethrone that bottomless pit of a stomach of hers," the owner announced while pointing at the trophy with prize money seal in a scroll that was held on top of a shelf. There was even a poster below with the photo of Naruko with 30 empty bowls. Below the photo, there was an announcement and explanation about the Uzumaki Ramen Challenge.

"I don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted," Ino commented after seeing the picture.

"Be both. Trust me, seeing Naruko slurp up all of the noodles in a bowl in a single breath is both impressive and makes you want to have your stomach pumped," Iruka spoke as he and Suzume were writing something after finishing their food.

"Iruka-sensei. Suzume-sensei," Sakura started with due respect for the teachers. "May I ask what you're writing about? If possible, that is."

"It's a report for Sandaime-sama about what we have seen today," the scarred teacher explained with a hard look in his eyes.

"Yes, the attitude of those "adults" was both disturbing and disgusting. I'm sure our leader will enjoy knowing how people are threatening a lone girl," the curly-haired teacher added with more venom than any of the students had heard in her voice.

"I hope heads roll," Sasuke muttered but only Sakura, who was sitting to his right, managed to hear.

"Regretfully murder is still illegal if you're not getting paid for it by the nation." Upon hearing the voice everyone turned to see Naruko, in her original hair and eye colors, cleaning her glasses as she sat on one of the free chairs. "A bowl of Pork Ramen, please."

"Coming right up," the Ichiraku family said without skipping a beat. Sasuke, on the other hand, glared at the girl. Part of him wanted to start demanding answers but the other part, much to his horror, felt it wasn't his place to pry. Just a few moments living like her had shown the Uchiha that the girl may deal something worse than him which he had thought impossible. Yet here he was literally using his real face to escape the reality the supposed Dead Last and weakest kunoichi in class faced every day.

'_Hmph, the real weakling here is me. I didn't even spend an hour __in her__ shoes and I was ready to kill those people. How the hell can she live like this and still have enough strength to smile?_' Sasuke thought to himself as he looked at the girl.

"I know what you all want to ask. "Is that how you've always been threatened?" Well, no but yes," Naruko said with a soulless chuckle at the end. Then with her head resting on her left fist, she turned to everyone. "Normally this village is appeased with just ignoring my very existence. I haven't seen treatment like that in years but I guess the knowledge of me getting stronger has finally started reaching others and the "adults" wanted to put the demon bitch in her place. As for the Demon Tax? Yeah, that's something I've always had to pay but didn't notice until recently," she explained as her food was delivered.

"How did you not realize you were being robbed?" Sasuke questioned with an incredulous look. Instead of an answer, the group got to witness the girl's ability to inhale her precious noodles.

"_~Ah~_ This ramen is still the best Teuchi-sama," the girl sighed like a man finding a lake in a desert. "Another one, please! Now, to answer your question. _***shrugs***_ It wasn't until recently that found a place that sells me things at reasonable prices. Plus, given how bad my education was, is it a surprise I had so little intelligence. Heck, if it wasn't for Ayame-neechan here I'm pretty sure I would still be eating everything with my hands instead of chopsticks."

"Still doesn't change the fact that you eat like a little piggy," Ayame joked with a grin. "Seriously girl! If you don't really slow down no man is going to want you."

"Perfect! Ichikaru Jiji, bring me five more bowls!" the Uzumaki demanded with a grin that caused the father to laugh and the daughter to roll her eyes.

"How can you just joke like that?" Sasuke asked with some anger. "Don't you feel insulted by how they treated you? Don't you want to make them pay?" he growled which, to everyone's surprise, earned him a disappointed look from Naruko.

"Where did you think I was all of this time?" Naruko inquired as she had been asked history's dumbest question. "Look Duckbutt, I know you've lived a sheltered life of luxury even after _that_ night so I wouldn't berate you for not knowing the time it takes to plan and execute a revenge prank. However, I will call you an idiot for thinking I wouldn't want to make them regret their actions against Naruko Uzumaki."

"What could you have done in an hour?" Sakura asked genuinely even her inner self gained some respect for the Uzumaki after what they saw today.

"Oh," Naruko started with a very evil smirk "Let's just say that they wouldn't be getting out of the porcelain throne for a while." The dark low chuckle that followed this statement made all of them shiver in slight terror. Last time anyone heard the girl say something similar she had made sure the suffering party found themselves without any toilet paper.

"Okay, putting that aside for now," Sasuke started. "Did you think up this challenge so I would know what it is like to be humiliated?"

"Jacket please," Naruko said while extending her hand. When Sasuke didn't respond she threw him glare while repeating the request. The boy raised an eyebrow but did hand the garment. "Thank you and yes that was the first part of it. The other part was this," she answered while looking through the jacket and then pulling out what looked like a small camera from a hidden pocket. "A video recording for the Hokage alongside the written statements of two trustworthy teachers." The group looked in surprise at seeing Naruko in possession of both such a high-tech device and the ingenuity to use a prank as a disguise for espionage. Well, there was one exception in the group that was not surprised by this revelation. This person being Hinata who, thanks to secretly activating her Byakugan, was able to see that the camera was in actuality Benihime who was using a small illusion on herself. It also showed that the small cassette that Naruko was "taking out of the camera" had been materialized by the fairy from one of the video recording windows the Navi could produce.

"Did… Uzumaki-san… Did you plan all of this?" Suzume asked in shock.

"She did," Hinata answered with a grin as she couldn't stop herself from feeling proud of her girlfriend. "Naru-kun told me everything yesterday. Her plan was for Uchiha-san to act like her old self around the village while the senseis watched. This way in her own words would: 1) make Uchiha-san work for once in his life, 2) get Haruno-san to hopefully be more civil around her, 3) hopefully trick Ino-chan into beating up Uchiha-san while he was disguised as Naru-kun, 4) get a recording of how some of the adults treat her, 5) get back up statements for reliable people, and finally 6) have Sandaime-sama descend on those people with the full might of his political power."

"And I managed to complete 5 out 6 of those things!" Naruko added with prideful laughter as the group tried to process how they just got played by the small blonde.

"Damn, and I thought I was the manipulative bitch. Kudos Pumpkin. Kudos," Ino acknowledge with added clapping in awe.

"Wait," Sakura spoke up "This still doesn't explain why people hate you? I mean, you can be annoying but that amount of hate is unnatural."

"Oh, trust me Sakura-chan, it's natural to get that amount of hate when they see your very existence as an insult," Naruko said cryptically.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Sasuke yelled while slamming his fist on the counter. "How is being alive an insult to them? Being alive is not a crime!"

"It is for me, Uchiha-sama," the Uzumaki commented while grabbing another bowl. "I was born and that was deemed reason enough."

"No, it isn't!" the Uchiha screamed with more life and anger. This made Naruko raise an eyebrow as she suctions up another bowl before speaking again.

"Is this anger because you got humiliated or are you genuinely offended about how I'm treated?" she asked and if possible, the boy's frown grew in intensity.

"It doesn't matter," he growled "You deserve more respect than that. You're human, dammit!"

"Heh, if only that were true," Naruko commented with an empty chuckle. This time everyone in the shop looked at the girl with concern. It also didn't help that the girl closed her eyes and forced a grin just as she had told Sasuke to do.

"Pumpkin… What did you mean by that? Sure, you can be weird thanks to your new jutsu but that still doesn't make any less human. Take it from me. I come from a family of people that can enter other people's minds and control them like marionettes," Ino tried to cheer up her friend.

"Y-Y-Yeah Ino is right!" Sakura added because her very soul told her if she ever wanted to call herself a human again, she needed to help the Uzumaki. "Even that super-powered regeneration of yours is normal if you think about it as a bloodline limit. Hence, there is no reason for those awful people to call you a monster. They are the real monsters!"

"Naruko I've-"

"Enough," Naruko's growl interrupted Sasuke much to his surprise. "Let me guess. Were you going to tell me I'm not a monster because you've seen what a real one is? Well, you're right Sasuke, I'm not a monster like your brother. I'm some**thing much worse,**" the blonde finished with a much deeper voice. Then she opened her eyes to show a twin blood-red slit orbs glaring back at him. Adding to this the group saw the girl's whisker marks darken and grew alongside her nails turning into claws. They could even tell the girl's fangs had lengthened as they could see the upper ones just poking out below her upper lip.

"Naru-kun, people be careful! You're using that red chakra again," Hinata warned as she got up and moved towards the girl. The rage in her love's eyes subsided but the sad look told the Hyuga to not get closer for now.

"R-R-Red chakra? W-W-What are you talking about Hinata-chan? All chakra is blue," a slightly scared Sakura commented.

"Pumpkin is different," Ino spoke much calmer given this transformation wasn't new to her. "I don't know since when but she had recently been able to use the red chakra when she gets angry. This is actually the third time I've seen her use it but Hinata should know more about thanks to her Byakugan." Hearing this explanation both Sasuke and Sakura looked at the Hyuga heiress expectantly. The bluenette, in turn, inquired her love if it's alright to talk about the chakra. For a moment it seemed that she was about to get refused before Naruko powered down with a defeated sigh and gave the go-ahead. Hinata gave a nod of understanding and proceeded to explain.

"Well… How should I put it? This red chakra is… incredibly powerful for lack of a better term. Normally to my Byakugan a person's chakra is similar to a candle illuminating a dark world. One blue flame equals a life. Even stronger people like the jonin or Sandaime-sama fit this description if only somewhat brighter compared to us students. However, the red chakra Naru-kun possesses is… different," Hinata said while losing herself in the memory. "That red fire is not a small candle but an all-consuming inferno that eats away at the forest without a sign of ever stopping. Not only that interacting with it is… it's unlike anything I've ever experienced. Normally when we use chakra it feels warm water is running through our bodies and it feels welcoming. That red chakra is the antithesis of this. This power feels impossibly heavy, dangerous, menacing, violent, almost bloodthirsty and worst it's highly poisonous to the human body."

"Poisonous?!" the enthralled group inquired and took a quick look at the Uzumaki. Sure, enough Naruko now looked somewhat tired and out of breath, something some of them thought impossible.

"Yes," Hinata answered and couldn't stop a tear from escaping upon remembering the whiskered girl's near-death state. "Yesterday, I went to help Naru-kun after her fight with the defective training doll. She was suffering from an extreme case of chakra poisoning caused by the red chakra. She had used too much and it was quickly destroying her body from the inside out as if it was trying to make her body rot away. Due to this before I helped her Naru-kun could have pass for a breathing corpse."

"Why would you use something like that?!" both Sakura and Ino asked in horror.

"Heh, it's not like I have a choice. I've had this chakra in me since birth and only now did Jiji decide to tell me about it. Heck, even then that was only after I confronted him about it AFTER I saw myself transform by accident," Naruko answered.

"Wha… Why would Sandaime-sama do such a thing?" Ino asked as she stood up in this belief. During their little exertion into the game-world, she had seen how the man acted as if the whiskered girl was his granddaughter. Heck, he let the girl yell at him for a mistake and took it as a lesson! So, why would the man hide such a dangerous secret from the girl for so long?

"Well like pretty much everything in my life you can blame my birthday for that," Naruko responded bitterly, much to the students' confusion. The adults, on the other hand, looked away in shame. Hearing this line of thought again made Sasuke frown.

"Naruko, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense. Why do you keep referencing your birth as if it's the clue to figuring everything out?" Sasuke questioned in frustration. He didn't think of this girl as an acquaintance let alone a friend yet he still wanted to know more of her to maybe offer some help or relief. Just a few hours ago the Uzumaki had been nothing more than a classmate that possessed a jutsu Sasuke could use to get stronger. Then the damn trickster had to fool him into walking a mile in her shoes. Thus, both humiliating and forcing the Uchiha to see life through the eyes of someone that didn't get things handed to them. '_Fuck you, Naruko Uzumaki! It may not __have__ been __your__ plan but you made me care for someone else suffering. Now you're going to tell why you've had to suffer like this,_' the Uchiha thought with anger over learning that he may have just let his heart open up to the possibility of friendship. Itachi could use that against him, dammit!

"Don't any of you know when my birthday is?" Naruko asked with a raised eyebrow. At the question both Ino and Sakura slowly started shuffling uncomfortably will Sasuke glared at his feet. This made the girl chuckle and returned to eating which caused her to miss Hinata's slowly widening eyes.

"N-N-Naruko-san," Sakura started looking very ashamed with herself "I'm sorry… but… I don't think anyone knows. You've never celebrated it."

"Heh, that's because it's not a date to celebrate," the whiskered girl responded cryptically. Three classmates looked perturbed at how assured the girl sounded when she tried to look mysterious about this. It was almost as if the girl genuinely believed that statement was a fact, not an opinion. This sentence was also the last straw for Iruka and he was-

"Those fucking bastards," the normally gentle voice gasped out. This surprised everyone enough to turn the source. There they all bared witness to a sight that mankind thought was an impossibility in this reality. Right before them stood one Hinata Hyuga Byakugan _glaring_ through tears, teeth bared in a fierce snarl, fist clenched and shaking with enough rage that for a brief moment they managed to see a goddess of war where the girl had been standing.

"H-H-Hime?" Naruko asked both terrified and, much to her shame, a little hot. Unlike the others, this was the second time she had heard the Hyuga curse so it wasn't as shocking. However, even the first time during their love confession the words didn't have half the amount of power than the three just now. This time Hinata's rage could almost be tasted. Then their eyes locked with each other and Naruko felt her throat dry up. There was so much anger in those lavender eyes that it scared her yet it was the love behind all of it that truly stumped her. It was the same if not a stronger form than the one she had seen in the Hyuga's eyes yesterday. '_What… But… How? Why is she accepting me? She just realized what I am. D-D-Didn't she?_' Naruko thought in shock right before feeling her girlfriend hug her like a lifeline.

"You're wrong," Hinata spoke firmly through her tears. "You're wrong! Just because you were born the day the Kyubi attacked doesn't make you a monster. Those people have no right to make you the scapegoat!" the Hyuga proclaimed which caused the adult stiffed while the other three students gasped at what was said. Naruko herself blinked in shock at the determination of those words.

'_Dammit, Hime… Why do you keep making me feel valuable?_' Naruko thought as she felt frustratingly happy. This was a moment to be angry, discouraged or at the very least depressed not getting fluttering butterflies in the stomach over the fact that a pretty girl was defending you. "Then," the Uzumaki started talking "what about the seal keeping the Kyubi's chakra inside of me? It not natural for a human to be able to use demon chakra." Hearing this Hinata leaned back and stared intently into Naruko's eyes.

"Did you place the seal on yourself?"

"No, the Yondaime did. But-"

"No! I don't know why the Yodaime would be cruel enough to seal that monster's power in you or why he had to but that means all that you've suffered isn't your fault. It's his fault," Hinata proclaimed vehemently.

"Actually, he didn't have much of a choice," Naruko lamented and quickly had to place a finger on the girl's lips to stop her from retorting. "Please let me explain."

"Naruko, you don't have to do this. None of them have to know," Iruka suggested abruptly which made the students look at him with confusion. Naruko, on the other hand, smiled bitterly and shrugged.

"They'll be told after they become Genin anyway. Why hide it till then?" Naruko relented sadly. Seeing this, Ino decided enough was enough and stood up to join Hinata in supporting the Uzumaki.

"Naruko, if you don't want to say anything you don't have to. However, if you feel that this needs to be said, know that both Hinata-chan and I are here for you," the Yamanaka assured her after placing a comforting hand on her fellow blonde's shoulder.

"Us too," Teuchi proclaimed while patting his favorite customer's head just like a father would.

"Yeah! Like or not, you're stuck with dad and me," Ayame added with a grin and a thumbs up.

[Me too,] Benihime speaking for the first time today.

"Heh, fine. You all win. But all of this still started on the day I was born," Naruko commented before taking a steady breath. Then she proceeded to tell a slightly abridged version of what Sarutobi had told her about that fateful night. The parts of the masked man, Kushina being the second jinchuriki of the Kyubi and the woman dying alongside the Yondaime to protect the baby Naruko remained. What was changed was that instead of the Kyubi being split in half Naruko lied by saying that the demon's body and soul had been destroyed. However, that left the monster's uncontrolled chakra still lingering in the world thus the young Hokage sealed it inside of Naruko to serve the connection the demon had to this world. Thus, the recently born child had been turned into a jinchuriki with the differences being that the demonic chakra wasn't being controlled by another but by her negative emotions. Through all of this Hinata and Ino refused to let go of her and by the time she described the death of her mother that two girls had enveloped Naruko in a protective hug while also silently crying for her. Everyone else, especially Sasuke and Sakura, remained silent as they tried to process why the world deemed it right to deal Naruko Uzumaki such a bad hand.

"Do you have any idea who the masked man was?" Sasuke asked after a few moments of silence.

"I've talked to Jiji about it and he thinks it could have been Madara Uchiha since he used the Kyubi once before to fight Hashirama Senju. However, I don't think that's possible because Madara would have been like 100ths years old by then. I doubt that someone that old could have fought the legendary _Yellow Flash_ and given him problems," Naruko explained and took note of the fire in the boy's eyes.

"I see," the village prince commented as he lowered his head in thought. "I don't know if it will help but I'll search anything I can on Madara Uchiha."

"Why the sudden need to help me?" Naruko asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because if anything else, someone killed your mother and it was impossible for you to do anything just like what happened to me. We could help each other in avenging our families," Sasuke explained as if he was making a serious bow. Naruko looked at the boy's unflinching determination and could only chuckle.

"Fine. We'll be revenge bodies but get ready for me to annoy you to no end. Life is too damn short to just dedicate it to revenge. I'll have you make a plan for a long life after your revenge and in case it never happens," Naruko promised with a smirk and Sasuke only slightly scuffed at this. Then Naruko noticed their resident pinkette biting her lower lip while staring intently into her empty bowl. "What about you Sakura? How do you feel about knowing one of your classmates holds a part of one of the strongest demons in existence?" At the question, the group saw the girl jump in surprise before looking down in shame.

"Truthfully? I _am_ scared of you. Unlike Ino, Hinata-chan or Sasuke-kun who come from shinobi families, I'm just a civilian girl. All of my knowledge of shinobi comes from what was taught in the academy and what I've read about in books. I don't even know what it's like to possess an ability or body part that sets me apart from others let alone knowing what it's like to have demon chakra running through my veins," Sakura lamented yet she still had the power to lift her head and look Naruko in the eyes. "However, what I do know is that you aren't a monster, Naruko-san. I may only know about the trouble-making idiot version of you show us. But between that and today I say it's enough for me to say it. Because a monster would have snapped by now if it had gone through with even half of what I saw today. I'm scared now true but I'll overcome it. I refuse to be like those people."

"Wow, Sakura-chan… I think you just blew my expectations of you away in the best way possible," Naruko proclaimed with a laugh that caused the girl to blush. Then the jinchuriki smirked viciously "Now you just have to stop acting like an air-headed bird brain of a harpy like those fangirls and I'll stop forgetting you have a functioning brain behind that pretty face." That comment caused the pinkette to childishly fight it which in turn slowly made the group of students fall into a fit of chuckles and laughs as the previously heavy atmosphere was lifted. Through all of it, both Iruka and Suzume watch on with smiles on their faces.

"Uzumaki-san is something," Suzume started. "Just by being herself, she managed to make friends with people who hate her."

"Tell me about it," Iruka agreed with a small smirk, "But seeing things like this is what we teachers live for." With that last chuckle, the two shared a quick and secret drink with the ramen cook.

A cheer for their favorite troublemaker.

A cheer for the friends she has made.

And a cheer for the friends that will come.

* * *

**A/U: **

Sorry, this chapter came out so late. For some reason, this chapter was just a pain to write but I hope you enjoyed it. I also wish that this chapter shows that I wouldn't go for the bashing of Sasuke and Sakura.

Sure, I'll mess with them here or there but I'll try to make them good people. Plus, I always thought Sasuke really became an ass AFTER Orochimaru marked him. Before that, he was just mad but could at least work together with his team.

Sakura on the other hand? Yeah, I'm going to make her actually useful BEFORE the end of Shippuden. Plus, she and Sasuke will have way more time together so the relationship doesn't seem tacked on.


	17. The rest of the week

**Chapter 17: The rest of the week**

(Sometime later)

[Hokage Office building]

"Jiji! Catch!" Naruko yelled the moment she barged through the Hokage office's doors. The Sandaime's reflexes were still on point as he caught the object with his left hand without lifting his head from the papers he was working on. After he finished rejecting a form Hiruzen looked at what the girl had given him. It was an engraved red coin wrapped in a rubber band holding a folded paper on it back. He raised an eyebrow when the girl's advice reading the letter before asking anything. Humoring her, Hiruzen did so and through the admittedly bad handwriting, he learned about the challenge coin, how the girl acquired it and what he could expect.

"Heh, you're just going keep impressing me, I see?" Sarutobi chuckled as the girl grinned on. "Good thing I've started training again after last time. Now, given you came through the door instead of the window it's safe to assume you have more to say. Correct?"

"Yep," Naruko answered with an extra pop at the end. "You can come in now guys," she called out to the unlikely group of teachers and students who entered in a much more respectful manner than the Uzumaki. "Got a surprise for you, Jiji!"

"Why is young Sasuke wearing part of your old orange jumpsuit," was the first thing the old Kage asked when he saw the group. Sure, the chunin instructors looked serious and the envelope being held by Iruka screamed "important" but people had to have priorities. Then his granddaughter just grinned with too many teeth.

"I pulled a prank," was all Naruko said.

"Of course, you did," Sarutobi and the four hidden ANBU all sighed in defeat. "What was it this time?" the Hokage asked, already feeling a headache forming. Then Iruka placed the envelope on his desk like this was a professional mission report the scarred man before he proceeded to explain what the group had been doing this afternoon. At first, Hiruzen chuckled internally from hearing how Naruko fooled Sasuke into being her and couldn't help the raised eyebrow at the interaction between the Uchiha and Yamanaka. However, any humor soon left him as the rest of the day's events were informed to him alongside the other people in the group giving statements from their point of view. Safe to say that by the end of the briefing the Hokage had lost his friendly grandfather visage. Instead, the group saw the elderly man turned into the unflinching, stern and powerful ruler of the village. Only the adults and Naruko managed to not look intimidated by the man's imposing presence.

"After this Uzumaki-san suggested to her fellow classmates to write a report of today like Suzume-san and myself were doing. These written reports are all sealed in that envelope alongside the video taken from the camera on Uchiha-san's person during the events," Iruka finished and waited.

"I hope it's understood that what I've heard just now are very serious allegations. Allegations that could end up causing unforeseen ramifications in the lives of these people and those around them," the leader spoke and caused most of the academy students to gulp in nervousness. Naruko on the other hand just yawned loudly much to the students' horror.

"Yeah, I know that Jiji. I also know that written papers could be easily faked or lost. That's why I added the videotape which can't be faked and I've already made multiple copies of it should that one "get lost" during transport," the whiskered girl said as if it was an afterthought. Then with a tired smile, she added "I want payback for everything those bastards have done to me but if life has taught me anything is that you don't always get what you want. So please, punish and humiliate them but there is no reason to ruin their lives forever." Hearing this surprising level of empathy for the girl's tormentors cooled the Hokage's fire. Then he noticed an evil grin appear on the girl's face. "But please make sure that they know that it's by _my mercy_ that they keep their freedom. Remind them that it's _my choice_ that they are treated fairly. But most important is that it's _my humanity_ that stopped you from turning them into a cautionary tale. There is no need for people to die from this after all."

'_Translation: "They already dug their hole now throw them a rope and see if they climb up or hung themselves with it." She really is Kunishina-chan's and Minato-kun's daughter,_' Hiruzen thought with a hidden smirk but said "Your leniency will be taken into consideration however I must examine the evidence you brought. After this, I'll have to launch an investigation so it may take some time. Do not expect this to be resolved quickly."

"I imagined but at least I've completed what I set out to do today. Thank you for your time Jiji," Naruko commented and bowed to the man. With that, the group understood this was the end of their small venture and bow too before leaving with the jinchuriki. Once out of the building their fearless leader decided that their next destination would be Sakura's house.

"Are we doing that weird flying jutsu of yours?" Sakura asked, already looking a little green.

"Sorry, I can't use **Zoom** to a place I don't know about," Naruko chuckled and asked the girl for the location. With that information, her mini-map was updated and Benihime provided a green arrow trail to follow. Thankfully given the time, there were fewer people out and the group could ignore most of the glares from random villagers towards the Uzumaki. Thus, the girls could talk among themselves with Naruko taking the time to integrate Sakura into the conversation. Then due to some well-placed questions by Hinata and Ino the talk was diverted towards the topic of video games. This soon caused the Uzumaki to geek out about all the games she had played in the arcades, the worlds she had visited and the people she had met and saved. Hinata found this side cute, Ino found it entertaining, Sasuke was indifferent and Sakura finally managed to chuckle.

"That heck," Sakura giggled "You talk as if you've been there for real. Those are just images on a screen, Uzumaki-san. I admit that you're the strongest girl in our age group but you shouldn't lose yourself in those kids' games. Life isn't a video game."

"If you say so Sakura-chan," Naruko smirked knowingly. Hinata, Ino and even Iruka struggled to hold their laughter knowing that the pinkette had unknowingly just managed to find the one person in the Elemental Nations who could say that saying was a lie. "By the way, Hinata-chan and Violet told me you took up an axe as a weapon. How is that going for you?" At the question, the emerald-eyed girl looked down ashamed. "Let me guess, no upper body strength?" Seeing the girl's twitch at the question she added "Then first and most important is that you have to eat! Not more of that diet that's pretty much "I don't eat." All you're doing is slowly killing yourself and insulting people that need to dig through a dumpster just so they wouldn't die from starvation. Second, start lifting things like beginner dumbbells or cans of paint if they're more available. I mean, before recently most of my training equipment consisted of junk I found thrown away and I still managed to become the third strongest in our group."

"Actually, it's the fourth-strongest now," Ino shot with a wicked smirk that made everyone look at her. "What? Did you forget how Hinata-chan made it look like you were run over by horses after she was done with you?" Hearing this the other members of the group tried to visualize the scene of the kind and quiet wallflower beating up the Uzumaki. The adults couldn't fathom it, Sasuke just imagined the Uzumaki had been holding back and Sakura openly looked at the Hyuga both awe and a little fear. Hinata for her part just blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

"Hey! I've gotten a little stronger since then. Besides, you have no idea what those magic fingers of hers can do," Naruko retorted and blushed upon realizing what she said at the end.

"Oh, I'm sure you know all about those "magical fingers" of hers," Ino muttered at what she thought was low enough not to be heard. Yet when she nearly crashed into the paralyzed Uzumaki, Ino got to see both Naruko and Hinata blushing and staring at her like a couple of deer caught in the flashlights.

"W-W-What t-t-that s-s-suppose t-t-to m-m-mean?!" Naruko stuttered yelled which caught everyone by surprise. Seeing this, Ino knew she should stop here and not embarrass or expose the Uzumaki. However, the Yamanaka princess also knew that if she didn't do something to help her friends, the chance of Naruko and Hinata getting together would take years. She was all for a slow burn romance but there wasn't anything wrong with adding a spark or two. Hence, she smiled like a cat and played with her prey.

"What? Hinata-chan there said she helped you with your chakra poisoning back at the infirmary. I just want to know how she helped you with those "magic fingers" as you call them. Is it wrong for me to ask? I'm just a worried friend. Unless something interesting happened that you don't want to tell. Well? Did something happen? Pumpkin? Hinata-chan? Either of you has anything to say?" the Gossip Queen asked as her two friends kept blushing harder and harder with each question. "Come on, I just want to know how she moved your chakra?" And with that Hinata fainted which proved enough distraction for Naruko to discretely clean the nosebleed, she got from the memory.

"Is Hinata-chan okay?" Sakura asked after seeing the girl collapsed.

"She should be. Though that only happens when she's around our dear Naruko Uzumaki. I wonder why?" Ino commented smugly. Thankfully for the whiskered girl, the Yamanaka didn't get a chance to notice the nosebleed. Also, the jinchuriki refused to answer the question and with the help of a clone gently picked up the unconscious Hyuga. After that, the group kept walking towards Sakura's house as Naruko carried Hinata on her back.

[You're lucky she's wearing armor. Else her boobs would be pressed all over your back,] Benihime teased which caused her mistress to blush at the mental image.

[Shut up,] Naruko muttered to the fairy who giggled but followed orders. Moments later the group reached Sakura's house. "Wait a moment. You live in a bakery?" the whiskered girl asked upon seeing her classmate's home.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I never talk about so you wouldn't know. But yes, my parents have owned this store since before I was born," Sakura announced with a sense of pride in her voice.

"Cool, I've taken up baking myself after buying a new oven. Maybe we can change recipes later?" Naruko suggested. What she didn't mention was buying a skill book on baking and using one of her two-weekly instant-learn-skill slots to become an amateur baker. Was it cheating? Of course, it was but she was training to be a ninja and part of the job description is _not_ playing fair. Plus, this meant she could learn to bake cinnamon buns for her girl. Naruko wanted to be a good girlfriend after all.

"Sure, I'll… You know what? Yeah, I would like that. See you tomorrow everyone," Sakura responded with a smile and waved the group goodbye before entering her home.

"Bet you're mad she didn't give you a good night kiss," Naruko teased towards Sasuke.

"Whatever," was all the boy said before turning around to leave. However, he stopped and turned his head back slightly. "What jutsu do you want to learn?" At the group's confused look he sighed and elaborated. "Look I understand you said that today's challenge was postponed but for me, this was a total defeat. We made an honor bond deal. I lost and thus I owe you a jutsu. Now, what type of jutsu do you want to learn?"

'_Wow, he really wants to uphold his end, doesn't he? Hmm, I wonder what I should ask for? I do have to start learning elemental magic. No wait, the system classifies spells and jutsu differently so even if I learned elemental ninjutsu it probably wouldn't meet the requirements for my class advancement,_' Naruko thought before mentally writing to Benihime [Hey, Beni-chan? What do you think I should ask for?]

[Sasuke-san is part of one of the village's founding clans, correct? Why not ask about older arts like Fuinjutsu? Thanks to Kakashi-san's stories we know your mother was natural at making seals and there's a chance you are too on some level. Might as well try,] Benihime suggested and her friend nodded at the idea.

"Okay. Do you have any books or scrolls on Fūinjutsu?" the jinchuriki inquired which made the Uchiha raise an eyebrow.

"That's seal crafting, right? As far I can remember I've never heard of an Uchiha seal maker. Sorry," Sasuke answered truthfully.

'_Dang it. Oh well. Ninjutsu it is then,_' Naruko sighed and said "It's a shame but understandable. Then how about nature transformation training manuals? I'm a wind elemental by the way." Hearing this Sasuke nodded in acceptance but said it would probably take him a couple of days to bring the reward given that most of his clan had been fire elementals before leaving. Seeing the boy leave told Naruko it was time the group parted ways. Thus, she stepped closer to Ino before turning to the chunin. "Guess this is where we part for today. I can teleport Ino-chan and Hinata-chan so you don't have to escort us. Thanks for the help," she said and bowed alongside Ino. After saying their goodbyes, the Yamanaka grabbed her arm and they flew towards the flower shop. Once they landed Ino let go and turned to Naruko.

"You know, as horrible as the first time is that Zoom of yours is the best way to travel. A girl could get used to that."

"Heh, yeah I know. It's becoming a habit so I'm going to start running around again. Besides, I much prefer the feel of the air on my skin when I run. Fast Travel is just too quick for that to happen," Naruko answered and jumped a little when Hinata's lips brushed her neck. Ino saw this and smirked.

"Feeling something there, eh Pumpkin?"

"N-N-No."

"Guess I'll have to ignore that blush then," Ino giggled as her friend glared at her. Then her humor went away and Ino's face became downtrodden "But I'm really sorry if I ever made you feel like those people. You didn't deserve any of this. I'm sorry for being such an utter bitch to you all of these years."

"Violet… Hey. Ino-chan, look at me," Naruko whispered so Ino would look at her in the eyes. Sorrowful sky blue met understanding deep blue. "Don't beat yourself up for that. I mean, Sakura has been far worse to me and I've forgiven her. Ino-chan, even at your worst you never crossed the line with me. You never made fun of my height, me being an orphan or ever disrespected my parents. So why shouldn't I let bygones be bygones? Besides we're real friends now and I don't want to lose one of the two girls that could take my level of smack-talk and throw it back," she finished with a challenging grin and left Ino blinking in surprise.

'_How can she just forgive me like that? Dammit Naruko! I'm trying to feel bad. You don't have to go and make me feel better,_' Ino chuckled. "Fine. I wouldn't be depressed about it. And yeah, I do like our little spats from time to time. Pumpkin," she finished tauntingly with crossed arms.

"You know, I should stop calling you Violet. Sure, it's your favorite color but it sounds so lame compared to that one," Naruko commented, which made Ino raise an eyebrow.

"What? You finally came up with one better?" Ino asked with a laugh as Naruko's fingers twitched for a brief second. "Fine let me hear it," Ino challenged and leaned down so her ear was closer to the smaller blonde.

Then the word " _**Orchid**_ " was whispered into her ear in the huskiest and most tone she has ever heard. The air caressed her ear, the sound vibrated through her body, the meaning of the flower caused her mind to shivered, her soul awakened to the Uzumaki's presence and the core of her body became an inferno that blushed her entire being. Followed by this were _images_ of Naruko hugging her from behind with those _big_ and _**strong**_ arms of her as she whispered that word again and again. Causing the Yamanaka's body to react in ways it never had before. How could a single word cause so much damage? It was just a simple nickname made up by the annoying little brat yet the way it was said made her feelings transform into a storm of joyful madness that threatened to consume her.

'_Wha… I… How… But… KYYYAAAAA!_' Ino's poor maiden heart couldn't take much more stimulation and it chose to flee. Thus, the princess jumped away until her back was pressed against the door of her. Both of her now sweaty hands covered her assaulted ear connected to her flushed face as her quivering legs fought to sustain her weight. All the while her widened eyes started at Naruko who looked back at her with a mischievous grin before winking and zooming away. '_WHAT THE HELL DID SHE JUST DO TO ME?!_' Ino's frantic mind screamed as she slid to the ground and tried to get her heart to stop skipping so many beats. She was not about to die from gay panic, dammit!

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Naruko's apartment roof]

"That was kind of mean of you," Benihime reprimanded though she could stop herself from grinning over what happened.

"I call it payback," Naruko responded while laying down Hinata on a sofa she teleported up to the roof. The wonders of having a reality-bending cube that could help you create any furniture at a moment's notice. "Anyway, I have to wake up our princess here. She might not care about what her clan thinks but that guard Kō looks at me like a father ready to kill his daughter's boyfriend."

"I'm not surprised. Over the years as my personal guard Kō-san has been more of a father to me than Hiashi-sama has."

"Yeah, that would explain why-" The words died in Naruko's throat as she finally registered the third voice. With difficulty, she gulped down her nerves and looked down to see Hinata starting at her. The night was just starting to fall but even with the low light, Naruko could see there wasn't any anger in that pair of lavender eyes. However, there wasn't any laughter either, just neutral calculation as Hinata lifted herself into a sitting position.

"Naru-kun, what did you do to Ino-chan? I woke up a bit after my lips touched your neck. Hence, I was able to activate my Byakugan in time to see you breathe chakra into Ino-chan's ear. Please tell me what did you do?" Hinata asked with a calm yet firm voice. It made the girl seem so much taller and intimidating than Naruko could have ever imagined.

"Ah… Well, you see… I… umm… Beni-chan?" Naruko nervously asked while glancing at her partner for help. Instead, she found a text window that read

[Sorry! The girls called saying they need some help translating a textbook. I hope you and Hinata had a good night!]

"Traitor!"

"Naru-kun?" The question made the blonde flinch before she sighed in defeat. She knew she had done wrong and would have to pay for it. Therefore, Naruko bowed her head low, sat on her knees and showed Hinata the screen that held the answer.

* * *

**{TITLES}**

_The Prince_ [Equipped]

**Description** – a title given to a girl and woman who radiates an aura of attractiveness that can even sway members of the same gender. Normally this type of girl flourishes in all-girl schools because she is either cool, beautiful, handsome, smart, mysterious, possesses great athletic ability or a combination of these. Thus, causing her to gain many fans due to being the closest things these sheltered girls have to a boy or because she managed to awaken the girls' true feelings.

+25% chance of charming women

+10% chance of persuading women during conversation

Can cause extra CHARM damage to women when using the correct speech options

* * *

"Naru-kun, what do the terms charm damage and correct speech options mean?" Hinata asked more in confusion than anger after reading the text. Even with the blue tint of the window covering her girlfriend's face, Hinata could see Naruko's strong blush as she looked away.

"I don't know about the second one but the first is what you did to me at the infirmary," Naruko whispered through the embarrassment.

"What are you talking about? All I did was- oh… _Oh,_" Hinata gasped as the memory came back. Almost instantly the Hyuga blushed crimson as she remembered exactly what her fingers did to the Uzumaki. It wasn't long before the couple was both releasing steam from their ears due to the heat said event produced for them. It took some time before Hinata could form a sentence and even then, it was a struggle. "D-D-Does that m-m-mean you c-c-can make a g-g-girl c-c-c-c-c-climax w-w-with y-y-your v-v-voice?"

"Maybe," Naruko squeaked out while biting her lower lip. "I'm sorry… I thought it would have been a good payback for making you faint. I'm sorry," she apologized and waited for the hammer to fall. Instead, she felt her face being lifted by a pair of gentle hands.

"It's okay. No, please listen. I am mad but I'll forgive you this once. So please, promise me you will never use this title without my permission. Plus, you have to tell Ino-chan about this tomorrow. She's our friend and it's not nice to play with each other's feelings like that. Can you do that?"

"Yes! It's a promise," the blonde said while nodding continuously. Then she stopped. "Wait a moment… Why wait for your permission instead of banning it completely?" At the question, it was Hinata's turn to blush and pull away. She even did her cute finger poking gesture. "Hinata-chan?" For a while, the girl didn't give a response other than biting her lower lip. That is until she whispered.

"I… I want you… Well, I want… I… please use it while calling me pet names! Just like you did not Ino-chan," Hinata confessed quickly with a luminescent blush that Naruko matched.

'_Bloody hell… She wants me too… but that so… in her ear?! Wow… D-D-Did I really find such an awesome girlfriend by being myself and letting… her know about… me… fuck,_' Naruko thought as she came to the realization that she had yet to tell the girl the whole truth. '_We promised no secrets… but… will she still want me if she knew that the fox _is_ alive and in me?_' This caused a great deal of turmoil in the small Uzumaki as her mind came up with a plethora of scenarios where things would be better if she kept her mouth shut. However, even more, events emerged where the guilt of keeping this secret ate her up or that Hinata found out later and resentment grew due to that lack of trust. "I can't keep silent about the fox after all, can I?" she thought out loud while staring down.

"Huh?" Hinata asked in confusion. After confessing her desire to perform such an incredibly lewd act Hinata took her girlfriend's silence as a sign that she had crossed one line too many. However, hearing the pain in her lover's voice pulled at Hinata's heartstrings. "Naru-kun, what's wrong? What do you have to tell me about the Kyubi no Yoko?" At the question, she received a sad smile before Naruko got up and sat beside her on the sofa. However, the whiskered girl refused to look at her in the eye.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan. Today I lied to you about the true fate of the fox. Benihime! I know you're there by the door eavesdropping. Tell me, is there a way for me to show my memories to others the way you do with yours?" Instead of answering, the fairy opened the main system's menu screen showing tab shortcuts for all of Naruko's other menus. The tab called Encyclopedia had a flashing yellow [!] besides it to signal a new addition to it. Naruko clicked it on and then went to the new section called _Important Events_. There she found the video called _Meeting one's inner demons_ and once selected played the video of Naruko's meeting with the Nine-tails in its entirety.

"Was this supposed to scare me away from you?" Hinata asked calmly after the video ended. That reaction threw the whiskered girl for a loop as she found herself unable to answer. Then the bluenette interlocked their fingers before turning to the blonde with a radiant smile. "Because all it did was enforce and confirm my idea that you and the Nine-tails are two different beings. Not only that but it makes you stronger in my eyes because a creature fueled by evil considers you weak. To me that can only mean you're a good person at heart and I'm proud that the guardian of this village has chosen me as her partner."

Hearing this left Naruko speechless in wonder at how the girl could keep seeing the good in her. This was only their second day as an official couple yet in both Hinata had managed to make her feel so many positive emotions. Maybe it was the euphoria of first love, the inexperience of the youth or that this cruel world had yet to turn them completely cynical but Naruko hoped these moments kept happening. She wished Hinata could keep surprising her with support and love during her darkest moments. But most of all Naruko wanted to do the same for the Hyuga heiress because if Hinata was willing to help someone with a literal demon inside of them then the bluenette deserved to be supported and loved just as much.

"Also, Naru-kun," Hinata whispered while biting her lower lip and blushing like the sun. "y-y-you still o-o-owe me a p-p-pet name."

_**Gulp**_…

Well, then...

It seemed the next couple of minutes before Hinata would have to get back to her house were going to be _very_ interesting for the couple.

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(Wednesdays – Lunchtime)

[Ninja Academy – Outside resting area]

"Dude… What the hell happened to your face?" Kiba asked as he saw the perfect handprint on the left side of Naruko's face.

"Oh, I just pissed off Ino-chan. Nothing to worry about," Naruko answered while eating her lunch beside a giggling Hinata.

"What did you do?" Choji asked, a little scared.

"Nothing much, I just change her nickname from Violet to Orchid." That got Shikamaru's attention given how relatively quickly he lifted himself into a sitting position.

"Do you know what orchids are a symbol of?"

"Sure do."

"And you whispered it into that tsundere's ear?"

"Yep."

"You're lucky to be alive," Shikamaru complimented and went back to sleep. Then on the other side of the resting area, a similar conversation was taking place between Sakura and Ino.

"What did Uzumaki-san do to you?" Sakura questioned as her rival ate her food as if it had insulted her. The day had started out like normal with the exception that Ino had started to act like a shy little girl around Naruko in the morning. Then the Uzumaki had cornered her and they talked somewhere private. Next thing Sakura knew she was being dragged by an angry Ino to eat lunch while the whiskered her had a clear handprint on her face.

"She used that stupid sexy voice of her to give me a nickname," Ino answered with great indignation which caused Sakura to look as if she had just been hit by a confusion spell.

"Wha… Stupid… sexy… voice? What?"

"Don't look at me like that! Just you wait! Once she uses that on you, you'll feel the pain my poor pure maiden heart is going through!"

'_Pure maiden heart? Yeah right. Next, you're going to tell me Uzumaki-san is gay and she has a fan club filled with girls yearning to feed her ramen while only wearing wet bikinis. __**That wouldn't be so bad. I mean, don't you want to see the muscles that girl's arms are packing? Wouldn't it be awesome to be squeezed by those biceps? Oh yeah, I could motorboat those melons of hers!**__ Oh, shut up you pervert! I'm not a lesbian, so why are you having those thoughts? __**Because you can never outrun your gay thoughts! NEVER!**__ Fuck off,_' Sakura ended the mental debate by throwing in axe right between her inner self's eyes and throwing the body off a cliff. '_That will shut her up for a while._'

Thankfully the rest of the school day was uneventful after this. Then after school using the one true, tried and tested method for fixing or making things disappear Naruko bribed Ino with a shopping trip. During this, the three kunoichis in training went to _Higurashi Weapons_ where they met Tenten's father Tetsuo Higurashi. Surprisingly, the man looked more like a painter or sculptor than a weapons forger due to his blue kimono, glasses over his chocolate-colored eyes, long black hair and average frame. However, his callous hands and the ease with which he held his creations showed he was both a life-long forger and artist in his craft. It was during the introductions that the man learned that Naruko had been the girl who used to spend time with his daughter and he was overjoyed to finally meet the infamous Knives.

It was here that both Hinata and Ino learned of where Naruko got her love of videogames and that she had another big sister figure. After the introductions, Tetsuo asked the girls what he could help them with. The first thing they asked was help with finding the Yamanaka new whips. While he was a bit surprised by the choice of weapon, he still helped them find two that Ino fell in love with, a leather bullwhip and a chain whip with a bladed point at its end. Naruko feared she may have awakened something in the taller blonde but paid for them anyway.

"Anything else I can help with today, ladies?" the craftsman asked after ringing up the purchase. This would have been it for the shopping but Benihime was quick to remind Naruko that they still needed iron ore to make more slime equipment.

[If there is anyone that would know where to get some iron ore is the guy that works with it all day,] Benihime informed and Naruko nodded. Thus, the jinchuriki asked where she would find some which threw the man for a loop. "Uzumaki-san, why would I need such a thing? The process of extracting the iron from its rock is too dangerous. In good conscience I can't let you experiment like that," the weaponsmith announced to the surprise of the Uzumaki.

[I can't blame him. During the extraction process, the heat used is plentiful enough you could set your house on fire if something goes wrong. Thankfully we don't have to worry about that with our forge. Hey! I have an idea. Why don't you show him the gauntlets and scythe you made? That should reassure him that you know enough to not cause three buildings to go up in flames.]

[That fact that you use buildings as a scale of measurements worries me,] Naruko muttered to the fairy before talking to the craftsman. "Higurashi-sama, the truth is I've already gained some skill in blacksmithing. Here looked at these," she said unequipping and presenting her goo themed scythe and gauntlets to the man. Both he and the princesses marveled at the slickness of the weapon and armor as they seemed more akin to display pieces than proper equipment. This was especially so with the blade of the scythe seemed to be made out the thinnest pane of glass imaginable. Yet both Hinata and Ino had seen the scythe slide through wood and steel with ease and when Tetsuo picked it up, he could feel the power flowing through it.

"What kind of material is this? I can tell it's strong yet I barely feel its weight. And the craftsmanship! I can already tell many areas where it could improve but I would definitely sell this. Just how long did it take you to make these?"

"Hmmm, let's see… Between the gauntlets and the scythe? Hmmm… I think probably 30 minutes give or take? Maybe? I wasn't counting. I just made them," Naruko answered with a shrug.

"What?" Tetsuo asked in shock, which distracted him enough to accidentally slide open his thumb with the blade of the scythe. He managed to bite down the curse and blink in wonder as the Uzumaki came to his aid with a quick healing jutsu. However, as the wound rapidly closed his jaw dropped when he saw his blood drip complete off the blade. It was as if the majestic weapon couldn't stand the fact that someone tried to dirty it with their putrid blood. "U-U-Uzumaki-san… How did I manage to integrate a self-cleaning seal into the blade without using an engraving? Wait, no! How did you even come across a self-cleaning seal?! Those things are the stuff of legends!"

"You're supposed to clean your weapons?" Naruko asked with a tilt of her head and genuine confusion. Seeing and hearing this caused Ino to see her like an idiot while Tetsuo looked like he was about to have a heart attack. These looks caused Hinata to turn away to hide her giggle while Benihime, who right now could only be heard by the girls, openly laughed her little lungs out.

"Baka! Of course, you're supposed to clean your weapons! How else are you supposed to maintain them?" Ino reprimanded with crossed arm and a glare. Naruko frowned back at this.

"Hey! No one told me about it before now. Plus, all of my weapons do that cleaning thing," Naruko answered back before pulling out a bucket of orange paint from her inventory. After setting down and opening it she took out a short sword won from the skeleton soldiers. Then she dipped its blade into it which once pulled up processed to quickly drip itself clean like the scythe. "See?" she shrugged. Seeing the astonished look she shrugged again and added "I had to learn everything by myself so I didn't know you have to clean them. As for the material? Well that's my trade secret for now. But I do need iron for it to work so can I buy some? I'm okay with buying scrap too."

"Fine. Tenten-chan did warn me that you could be weird. However, I do hope you later tell me about your technique. I'll even give you proper lessons on blacksmithing in return. Deal?"

"Deal."

Thus, Naruko was able to buy ten iron ingots which Benihime explained that later they could scrap for ten pieces of iron ore each. Of course, that would be far more than what was currently needed for the first tier of smile equipment but that just meant Naruko could work on making iron equipment as well. Then after the shopping was done Ino suggested they go to an empty training ground so she could test out her new whips against Naruko's shadow clones.

So many, _many_, **_many_** clones lost their lives that afternoon.

On the plus side the **Shadow Clone Army** learned a new technique called **Auto-Respawned** which makes the fallen revive five seconds after their individual death if there is enough MP for them. Hence, Naruko no longer had to give the order for the clones to reconstruct themselves after Ino killed them with each hit. On the negative side, depending on who you asked that is, Ino was turning out to be terrifyingly good at dual-wielding her whips. Another thing to note is that after this Ino finally forgave Naruko and agreed to the nickname Orchid. However, it was only to be used among the four of them. No one else needed to know.

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(Thursdays – Afternoon)

[Naruko's apartment – Gym room]

"246… 247… 248… 249… and… 250!" Naruko exclaimed before collapsing on the mat after her last set of one handed-pushups. "That's _***pant***_ 1000 _***pant***_ with between _***pant***_ each," she said through gulps of air before rolling unto her back. "I can rest now, right?" she asked to her living manual.

"Let's see about that," Benihime pondered as she checked the training schedule Gai had given Naruko. Thankfully after doing it enough times the training had turned into a daily quest. There wasn't a punishment for not doing it but completing each tier let the Uzumaki accumulate points that could be used to buy prizes. "Hey! You have enough points to buy the first piece of Rare Candy."

"What does that do?"

"Oh, right. Forgot you haven't played Pokémon yet. By Arceus I to get you a Gameboy Color so you can start your journey," Benihime commented and then explained "A Rare Candy is free level-up. Eat one and you go up a level no matter how much experience you need. Normally it's best to use them when you have zero to almost nothing of XP meter filled."

"Cool but I'll pass for now. Anything else?"

"Let see… clothes… clothes… more clothes… sexy cosplay… more clothes… Oh, this one is interesting! If you use all of your 8000pts you can get a Holodeck for your sparring room."

"Holodeck? Does that have to do with Holograms? Aren't those made of the hard-light thing that covered the training puppet that tried to kill?"

"It's similar, this machine creates realistic holograms of either enemies or objects. This means she can fight old foes in the place you faced them or in new areas. You can also edit their stats to either make them stronger, weaker or have them use different tactics like being more aggressive, defensive or focus on fleeing from battle. Though thankfully while the machine is in use all damage is non-lethal. Plus, if we get the needed materials, we can upgrade the Holodeck to simulate different places like forests, villages, cities, open sea and even volcanos if we want to be adventures. Oh, and you don't have to worry about maintenance as I can do it alongside a clone or two."

"Okay. Buy it and we'll set it up later," Naruko answered while she sat up and pulled out a cold-water bottle from her inventory. After drinking she thought out loud "You know, it's weird… I'm doing all of this physical training and I haven't seen my stats increase from it. Yet after resting, I can _feel_ my body getting better and in sync. Almost as if each time I learn a bit more about it. How it moves, how it feels, what its limits are and just how I can push it to get that extra burst of speed or strength, you know?" Hearing this, Benihime smiled and landed on her friend's raised knee.

"I was surprised too when I noticed your stats not increasing from Gai-sensei's intense training. But I have seen improvement in your movements and with your explanation, I'm guessing that system, for now, is making up for the lost time."

"What do you mean?" Naruko is both confused and intrigued.

"While I scan you, please answer me this: Before meeting Gai-sensei, did you have a proper training program or did you make it up as you went?"

"Made it up as I went, of course. No one thought it would be a good idea to teach "the demon bitch" how to get stronger."

"And did you have a balanced diet?"

"Again no. Wait… is the system like… is it trying to put my body in the condition it should be at my current age?"

"That is half correct! From what I can gather after that quick scan, the system is improving your body to become the best version it can be at its current level. Then at the same time, it is helping your mind receive and process this new information faster so you skip over the awkward face of stumbling over yourself through each modification. Hence why you feel like you're getting to know your body better because that's exactly what's happening. Or as some old mystic would put it "your mind and body are becoming one." Also, now that you're eating properly and getting all the nutrition your body lacks it's safe to assume soon your body will start developing as it should have."

"Develop? Does that mean I'll stop looking like a 10-year-old with tits?" Naruko asked with a look of both desperation and hope. Seeing this Benihime laugh nervously but nodded in affirmation. This, of course, causes the small Uzumaki to scream in utter joy. "YAY! YES! I'll no longer be a half-pint midget shortie that you need a magnifying glass to find in an ant colony! Praise be the game system and its wonderful powers! YAY!" she celebrated as she fell back onto the mat with laughter.

"Naruko-chan, I understand humans care about their height but why do you? Sure, you're very short for your age but that doesn't really explain it. Especially how it seems that in the past this angered you enough for people to now actively avoid mentioning it," Benihime, still on Naruko's knee, finally asked after her friend took a breath. However, she noticed this question caused the blonde to become quiet for a time. "Naruko-chan?"

"Sorry… Bad memories," Naruko commented before answering. "I get mad about the short jokes because my height reminds me of all the times that I've had to miss a meal. Look, I may be an idiot for a lot of things but I'm not stupid. Anytime I had to go to the doctors for medical check-ups I could hear them and the nurses talking about how I was underdeveloped, malnourished, and overall, I was short and weight less than someone my age should. That if things kept going it would be a miracle if I passed the physical for the Genin Exam let alone survive past the year as kunoichi. So yeah, I get pissed off when someone makes fun of my height because it's a constant reminder of how fucked up my life is."

"Sorry I asked… I didn't mean to open old wounds."

"Nah, don't worry. You didn't know anything and I guess it's good to air that one out once in a while," Naruko assured while a smile before blushing and looking away. "Besides, I have a girlfriend now and if I grow taller, I can give her a proper kabedon."

"Wait, the wall slam thing? I thought you couldn't read before so why do you know that term? And you haven't bought any manga recently," the fairy inquired and got a chuckle out of her friend.

"It was a few days before you came into my life. I was bored and sitting in a tree when I heard a couple of Sasuke's fangirls talking about it. Explained how they wanted him to do it and everything. Given how feverish they talked about it I think Hinata-chan could enjoy it but first I got to be taller than her. Plus, given how young I look if Hinata-chan were to do it… well, it would just make her look like a pervert."

"Not sure I buy the last part but that's just me. Anyway, tomorrow is your first sleepover if memory serves right. So, what do you want to do? What to check out that dungeon map we got from the sewers?"

"Hmm, Nah. I shouldn't go into a dungeon in case the girls want to explore tomorrow. Maybe reading a book would be better? Heh, never thought I would suggest reading a book as a way to pass the time."

"If dungeon exploration is out and you want to read why not look at the notebook Uchiha-san prepared for you about Elemental Transformation?"

"Oh, right! He said it took him a while to write it because he needed dumb to information so I would understand," Naruko remembered and smirk. "Fucking bastard couldn't pass up the jab at me. Gotta respect him for that one. I'll also have to get him next." With that said the gamer opened her [BOOKS] tab and pulled out the notebook Sasuke had given to her this morning as a reward for him failing the challenge. The blonde also chuckled at the memory of Kiba yelling that it wasn't fair that he didn't get to see the Uchiha lose. In response, Sasuke just said it had been a private affair between them and what happened there was no one else's business. "Well, will you look at that? He actually took the time to make diagrams and images to make it easier to understand. Guess he took it as a personal attack on his honor if I somehow wasn't able to learn this."

"Does that make him selfish or selfless? On one hand he took his time to make a very detailed and easy to understand manual for a difficult subject. On the other he did it because the thought of failing, even by proxy, was out of the question."

"Let's give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Besides he took the time to explain how elemental chakra works and explain the training used to unlock them. Plus, I kind of enjoy his anime-style drawings. Hehehe, that closet geek just gave some juicy ammo willingly," Naruko commented while paging the notebook. Then her body locked up as her right eye turned a complete glowing white with equally pale chakra smoke escaping its side while her left turned a solid black with purple smoke. About five seconds later Naruko blinked and her eyes were back to normal but she felt incredibly dizzy and sporting a slight headache.

"I see the clones finally managed to learn another spell. Two of them at that, I'm guessing, give the two district colors," Benihime noted as Naruko moaned in pain and rubbed her temple.

"Yeah, the second non-elemental attack spell and the first shadow element spell. At least now that I have a connection to the shadow element, I can learn **Desolation Claw** from its scroll," the whiskered girl commented as the pain slowly subsided. "Kind of sucks my clones can't learn from books like I can and instead have to re-read it until they memorize it. Four clones per page cost way too much chakra and time."

"This is a direct result of you just learning to read or write. I'm sure the more you practice you'll learn and create the **Speed-Reading** skill that will drastically cut down the time needed to read and understand a book. Just give it time. Now, what spells did you learn?"

"The non-elemental spell is called **Magic Bullet** where I concentrate my MP into the tip of my finger and once there is enough I "pull the trigger" to launch a fist-size orb of concussive energy. The shadow element spell is called **Blind** and like the name implies I can temporarily blind my target but it only has a 30% chance of successfully affecting the target," Naruko explained while taking out the skill scroll and finally learning **Desolation Claw**. "Okay, not that I used up my second and last instant-learn-skill slot for the week, let's take a bath before reading Sasuke's notebook in the rooftop. The open-air and warm sun helps me concentrate."

"Righty-O, Daddy-O!"

"For the love of all that is holy never say that again."

"Sorry, I'll delete that from my memory."

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(Friday – After school)

[Hyuga Compound]

"I have everything ready Oneechan," Hanabi called out with her backpack perfectly in order. Hinata turned to her little sister and patted her in the head lovingly. Both girls were dressed in a casual white dress.

"Got job Hanabi-chan. I finished packing as well," Hinata commented and asked if the girl was ready to leave. Not surprisingly the little nodded in excitement over the prospect of spending time with her big sister. As the two girls walked through their home, they found their father waiting at the entrance of the courtyard. Both stop to bow to him. "Good afternoon Hyuga-sama. Here to see your daughter off? Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to Hanabi-sama while we're in the care of the Yamanaka clan," Hinata promised rather coldly.

"You're my daughter too, Hinata," Hiashi said evenly but you could still hear hurt in his voice. Regretfully for him, Hinata was using the perfect mask of neutrality his clan was known for. Worse still the girl had started to refuse to respond when addressed as a member of his direct household. "Please be careful. Both of you," he finally said after seeing that his oldest wouldn't budge from her current stance.

"Don't worry Hyuga-sama. I'll make sure that this diplomatic outing with the Yamanaka heiress will be successful," Hinata announced before bowing again and escorting her little sister out of the clan compound. All the while Hiashi watched his two girls leave with regret beneath his sculpted mask of indifference.

'_Is this it? Did I push her too much and finally made the distance too large to cross? Hitomi-chan, I know I'm a failure as a father but please give me a hint on how to fix this. I don't want to lose more of you,_' the clan head lamented to himself.

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Yamanaka Clan Compound]

[Ino's Family House]

Both Ino and Inoichi were currently watching the matriarch of the household fussing over the house's state. The place had already been cleaned enough for some areas to literally shining but the mother just wanted to make sure her daughter's friends got a good impression. Apparently, the woman wanted this little party to be a recurring event if possible.

"Mom really wants this work, huh?" Ino asked her father with a small smirk. Inoichi lightly chuckled but still looked at his wife lovingly.

"Can you really blame her? The last time you had a sleepover was with Sakura-chan. Shame, you let Uchiha-san ruin that friendship," the clan head answered. At the corner of his eye, Inoichi saw his daughter frowning at the statement. '_I still remember the day they parted. Ino came back furious but crying during all of it. I hope they manage to reconcile soon. Having friends out there in the field is always a plus,_' the father thought. Then the family of three head the house bell announcing the arrival of someone.

"Ino-chan! Your friends are here," Noriko called out with a grin. Then mother and daughter went to greet the arrivals which turned out to be the Hyuga sisters accompanied by a young guardsmen Hyuga.

"Good afternoon, Yamanaka-sama. I am Kō Hyuga and have come here as an escort for Hinata Hyuga-sama and Hanabi Hyuga-sama," he introduced with a bow and stepped away to show the sisters who bowed in respect as well. After a couple of more formalities were exchanged the jonin excused himself to report back to the clan. Thus, leaving the girls to talk among themselves with Ino being the first to speak by calling Hanabi cute and commenting on the strength of the Hyuga's genes. While the older sister giggled the younger one puffed her cheeks slightly as if they had just called her weak.

"But talking seriously, why did you bring your kid sister?" Ino asked good-naturedly. Before the youngest could talk Hinata explained.

"Back in the clan, it's always about being proper, getting stronger and training to be both. It's a rare day when we get a chance to just be to ourselves. Hence, I brought Hanabi-chan so she could get some real rest for once and get to play. I hope this isn't a problem, Yamanaka-sama?" In response, the mother just shook her head and smiled.

"Not at all, Hinata-san! For a child to develop healthily they need time to play. So, it wouldn't be any trouble for me and Ichi-Kun to play with her while you girls have your fun," Noriko offered and smiled down at the youngest Hyuga. "Will that be okay, Hanabi-chan?"

"But I want to play with Oneechan," Hanabi answered in a small voice while holding onto her sister's hand. She wasn't scared of the mother far from it since that woman exuded a friendly aura but Hanabi had never gotten time to really play with her sister. Could anyone blame her for being selfish this once? Hinata certainly didn't give the hug she gave the smaller girl. Then the group somehow heard a loud neigh coming from above. Therefore, they turned their head just in time to see a giant black horse jumping off a building and out of shock they and the people on the street looked on as the horse continued its descent to the unflinching ground. Then just a couple of inches before it would crash and die the beast jumped midair and safely landed just in front of the four women. Still not believing their eyes, the Yamanakas and Hyugas looked at the horse towering over them as it calmly sat down and lowered its head.

"Hello, everyone," one Naruko Uzumaki greeted from the horse's back with a grin. Then she flips forward and lands before them as the animal pops in a white smoke. "Glad to see I'm not later for our gathering. By the way Hinata-chan, who is the little kid?" she greeted and asked normally. Hanabi was the first to get over her shock about the girl's entrance.

"I'm only 7 and you're only two inches taller than me. The only small one here is you," the small Hyuga countered which, to the surprise of the students, made the Uzumaki smirk.

"I think like you, kid. What's your name? Got to show you some proper respect after that one," Naruko asked and the girls introduced themselves which gave the other women time to recover.

"Uzumaki-san," Noriko started, "I wasn't aware you held the horse summoning contract. From memory the last time anyone heard of it was during the last moments of the First Shinobi World War where it vanished after its last summoner died."

"There's a horse summoning contract?" Naruko questioned back to everyone's surprise. "I just had one of my clones use the **Transformation Jutsu** to turn themselves into a horse so I could ride them over the rooftops for fun."

"But transformation doesn't work like that," Ino commented dumbfounded. "I mean, the jutsu is mostly a glorified illusion. When used neither your space or mass changes."

"Unless you perfectly visualize what you want to transform into," Hinata added in thought. "I don't possess Haruno-san's memory for text but think I read it once in a book about chakra theory. True transformation through the jutsu is possible. However, the user needs a high level of chakra and a near if not a total understanding of the object and/or animal they are changing into. The horse Naru-kun was using is a good example. To transform she would have needed to know where all the organs and muscles were positioned so as not to cause irreparable damage."

"But I _didn't_ transform. My clone did," Naruko commented with a confused look that was mirrored by the children. However, this bit of information made the adult chuckle. The, understandably, looked at the woman in confusion.

"Sorry, girls. It's just rare to hear an academy student find the loophole. Normally it's taught to Chunin because by then they have the chakra levels needed to pull it off," the Yamanaka Matriarch said after she finished laughing. Then she explained "As Hinata-chan explained, if one wants to transform into something like an animal one needs to know their makeup to change your organs, muscles and skeletal structure. However, a clone doesn't have organs since they are just chakra constructs and we can mold chakra into anything with enough practice and imagination. Another loophole is using an inanimate object," After that, she demonstrated by plucking a leaf from one of her flowers and turned it into a kunai. Then she used that new knife to cut a couple of other leaves to show off its edge before canceling the transformation.

"It's a good way to form a quick escape plan but the amount of chakra needed to keep the transformation active makes it very impractically. Reason being that more often than not the jutsu gets canceled by a single strike. Therefore, making reliable armor or weapons that could last an encounter is nothing but a pipe dream. Though I have heard seals can help in making the transformation more durable but I never understood how to make something other than one item limit single-use storage scrolls. Anyway, why don't we go inside for some tea." With that, the group was escorted into the house where the quest met Inoichi in the modest dining room of the house. There the patriarch served everyone tea his wife had prepared as the group sat around the table. After everyone was seated the father was the first to talk.

"Sorry if this sounds rude or intrusive, but I have to ask Uzumaki-san. What made you want to help my daughter get stronger? Last I heard before last weekend you two were almost enemies but after that Ino-chan started calling you a friend."

"Well like all good friendships she bribed me," Naruko answered with a smirk which made the daughter choke on her tea. "She wanted to know how I got stronger so she could help Uchiha-san. Hence, she bribed me with a giant bowl of ramen to come with Hinata-chan and me to train. However, instead of her learning something to show Sasuke she got close to us."

"Then it was in that dungeon while fighting that horrible abomination that our daughter broke through her mental barriers and opened the door for her to become the strongest psionic in our entire clan since its founding," Noriko added with a graceful smile. This revelation, of course, caused the Uzumaki to become frozen before she slowly turned to glare at Ino who chuckled nervously.

"B-B-Before you chew me out please let me explain," the princess pleaded as she found herself in the receiving end of two strong glares. '_Wow, Hinata-chan looks extra mad. She really is protective of Naruko-chan. Wonder how bad it will be when I finally get them together?_'

"Ino-san, you made a promise to Naru-kun and Hokage-sama on your honor as the heiress of the Yamanaka clan that you would not tell anyone what you saw today. Please explain why do your parents know, then?" Hinata asked in a firm tone that still surprised Hanabi.

'_Wow! Onee-chan is acting so cool,_' the little sister thought with stars in her eyes.

'_That's my girl! Get her,_' Naruko inwardly cheered for her girlfriend.

"Well about that," Ino started "the truth is I didn't technically tell them anything. Remember those headaches I kept getting before, during and after the fight with that abomination? It turns out that, just as Benihime suggested, it was my powers awakening and getting out of control. Then when I went to tell my parents I took off the circlet Naruko made for me which consequently caused my new powers to go on full blast and I accidentally made a mental link between them and me. This, in turn, caused a memory transfer to occur which made them see everything I saw against my will. Thankfully since mama and papa had more experience than me in mental base ninjutsu the connection as cut and my powers were suppressed safely."

[I see. One of the powers Ino-san developed was telepathy. Then like many beginners before her, the ability went out of control and connected her to other people's minds. She's lucky it was her parents who are already experienced in mental arts and could stop her. Normally the recently awakened telepath will accidentally kill the first person they connect to or their brain will break due to the strain of assimilating all the memories of another person's life,] Benihime explained while sitting on Naruko's shoulder.

'_Heh, guess I can blame her for spilling the beans if she was faced with that,_' Naruko thought to herself before smiling. "Okay. I'll forgive you," she said to the surprise of Hinata and elation of Ino. Then she smirked like a devil out for blood. "However, now you have to explain and show what those psionic abilities are. I'm the reason you started using them, after all." Hearing this Ino looked worried and glanced at her parents who nodded reassuringly.

"It's okay Ino-chan. Naruko-san, Benihime-san, and Hinata-san have helped you out a great deal. Therefore, we trust them with keeping your abilities a secret just like they trusted you," Noriko assured with a motherly smile.

"They considered you their friends Ino-chan and trusted you with a great secret. You can do the same. Please I'm sure little Benihime-san will enjoy knowing her predictions were correct," Inoichi added with thumbs up.

"Who's this Benihime everyone keeps is talking about?" Hanabi asked much to everyone's surprise since they had forgotten she was there. They also noticed she had activated her Byakugan and was looking straight at Naruko. "Also, what is the ball of chakra with wings sitting on your shoulder?"

"Heh, of course Hinata-chan's little sister has a Byakugan. It was stupid to assume otherwise," Naruko chuckled and Hinata looked worried for a moment.

"I'm sorry Naru-kun," Hinata apologized although Naruko told her it was okay. Still, the older sister turned to the younger one with a pleading look. "Hanabi-chan, please understand that nothing here is bad and that Benihime-san is a good friend of ours. However, we keep her existence and Naru-kun's new bloodline limit is a secret because there are bad people that could use them to hurt others."

"Like when Kumo tried to kidnap you?" Hanabi asked, looking down and feeling afraid. She had been too young to remember what had happened to her sister but that hadn't stopped the less savory of the elders from using the event to show that Hinata was a weakling. Hanabi had stopped counting the nightmares of her being in her sister's place during that event. Seeing the girl distraught, Hinata was quick to hug Hanabi to safety. "Okay… I promise not to tell anyone."

"Okay, Benihime. You said you were thinking of adding Hinata and Ino to the people that can permanently see, hear and talk to you even under cloaking. Please add Iruka Umino, Kurenai Yuhi, Kakashi Hatake, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hanabi Hyuga, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Noriko Yamanaka to that list," Naruko ordered. Almost immediately the people who hadn't met Benihime before felt something cover them for a second.

"Scans of Hanabi Hyuga, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Noriko Yamanaka are complete. By the command of Naruko Uzumaki you three and four others have been given the authorization to interact with the unit designated as Benihime," a voice spoke from the center of the table. Then to the amazement of the two adults and child they saw the space there distort into pixels before it started breaking apart. Next as the air broke apart, they saw a small female figure forming from the tiny legs up. Once the cloaking dissipated the group got to see the fairy dressed in an orange battle kimono with black outlines and her straight red hair lefts flowing down her back. Once she was visible Benihime bowed and introduced herself "Good afternoon everyone. My name is Benihime and I am Naruko Uzumaki's **N**avigation **A**ssistant **V**irtual **I**ntelligence or NAVI for short."

"Wow, so pretty," Hanabi gasped in child wonder since she was seeing a creature of, until now, fantasy standing before her.

"Thank you, Hanabi-sama. You are also petty yourself," Benhime acknowledged with a nod that caused the small Hyuga to blush at having been caught staring. Then the fairy redirected her gaze at the adults in the room. "I am happy that my assumptions of the Yamanaka knowing about a stronger version of mental ninjutsu were correct. I can see a great deal of potential in Ino-chan and that promise deserved a proper guide. Thank you," she finished with a bow.

"No, we should be the ones thank you and Uzumaki-san," Noriko spoke first. "It was thanks to you that Uzumaki-san possessed her new bloodline limit and thus could help our daughter further evolve her own. Not to mention that after that adventure my girl has become so motivated in taking her ninja training seriously. It does my heart good that we longer had to think of asking her to quit."

"What?" Ino and the rest of the girls asked in surprise. Inoichi nodded in affirmation before speaking.

"It's true Ino. Your mother and I had been talking about your poor performance these last two years. You barely ate, spent more time caring about your hair than training and you were almost obsessed with winning Uchiha-san's heart at the possible detriment of your self-worth. It worried us greatly and had us thinking it was best for you to either quit being kunoichi or at the very least be held back a year to see if you could get your act straight. Being a shinobi is a very dangerous job and many times even more so for a woman and we didn't want to be the parents who buried their child or worst an empty coffin. However, while we still worry, we have seen a remarkable improvement as of late. Physically you're not at a level I would like but each day you're getting better and thanks to your new psionic abilities you have an ace very few would expect. Thus, why Nori-chan and I feel we can trust you know with choosing this career."

"T-T-Thank you, daddy. Mama. I promise I'll make you proud," Ino said with eyes filling up with tears. Still, you could see the fires of conviction behind her light blue eyes. It made Naruko grin knowing she had helped the girl react to this point.

"Speaking of those psionic powers," Naruko recalled with an excited grin as she looked at Ino. "Now that our little princess knows about Benihime, _you_ owe a demonstration." Hearing this Ino smirked before taking off her amethyst circlet and closed her eyes to concentrate. Next thing they knew Naruko's hair lifts and is slowly styled in a single braid ponytail. As this is going the group also sees Ino's forehead begin to perspire while her hands move in sync with Naruko's hair. Moments later the act is done as Ino sighs and lets go of her friend's hair.

"Is that enough for now? I'm still getting the hang of it but I can at least now use two hands to move things if a little slow," Ino said with a tired but satisfied grin.

"I think I look better in twin-tails but you did a fantastic job here," Naruko commented while looking at her new braided hair.

"Well then," Inoichi started, "I think we've wasted enough of your time, girls. So why don't you go up to Ino-chan's room and start your weekend-long party? Spending time with your friends is important after all."

With permission given, the girls thanked the adults and left to start their fun. They had a whole weekend to party and they weren't going to waste it!

* * *

**A/N:**

I didn't mention this in the last chapter but I want everyone to know that I'm making Sakura a full civilian instead of the daughter of shinobi. Reason being that I genuinely forgot who her parents were shinobi because they only appeared in the anime way after I stopped watching it. I think I stopped watching it a little before Sasuke's fight with Itachi because I remember only reading the manga after that. Hence, I never saw Sakura's parents until after the series ended and read Sakura's wiki. Yes, I also skipped the movie they first appeared since I never got around to watching that one.

I like the idea of Sakura being the "normal one" of the group at the start. I feel like it makes her growth as a character is better. That and I somehow always had the idea that Sakura was good at baking. Don't know why. Maybe I read it in a fanfic during the series' early years?


	18. Ninja Sleepover

**Chapter 18: Ninja Sleepover**

[Ino's Room]

"Welcome to my room everyone," Ino declared as the group entered. The room was as girly as one would expect with the small collection of stuffed animals, a vanity table, big fluffy bed, and other decorations one could imagine though with different shades purple instead of pink. "You can sit wherever you like and Hanabi-chan you can leave your backpack by the closet. Now where do we start our little party?" she asked after sitting on her bed.

"We could explore a dungeon?" Naruko suggested and raised a hand to stop any protest. Then she pulled out her Adventuring Atlas to explain what it was, how she got it, and how they could use it. "Currently the unexplored maps I have are _Abandoned Village_ Lv1-15, 1000 _Dune Desert_ Lv15-40, and _Techno City_ Lv25-30. I suggest we start with the _Abandoned Village_ since it will be safer for Hanabi-chan who's a level 11 and me a level 9. I also have yet to open the map I got from the sewers. Maybe we could explore that one? Though if it's another one in a dump I'm willing to pay for another map."

"Let's examine that one first. Unlike us, Hanabi-chan is much younger and it will be her first time in the dungeon. I want her to take it easy if possible," Hinata suggested. At this Hanabi said she would be up to the challenge but Naruko was quick to point out that while the world they would explore was game-like that didn't mean they couldn't die. The gamer even lifted her head and slightly lower her shirt to show the light scar from when the flying knife had sliced open her neck. Seeing the evidence of how deadly this venture could turn output a different perspective on the situation.

"I'll… I'll be careful," Hanabi said a little scared but you could still see the resolve to not be seeing as weak. Naruko gave an approving thumbs-ups before clicking the unopened map which caused it to turn into a ball of white energy. The sphere then shot into the air curving and landing in the Adventuring Atlas. A magic seal appeared on top of the book as it opened into a new page that wrote itself into a new map.

[Adventure map – **Village of Lunaria** {Required Lv 8-13} |Common| acquired!]

"What determines a maps rarity?" Ino asked upon seeing the map of an island that had a village surrounded by a forest and a castle in the far north.

"It depends on the type of monsters, the rarity of their drops, items found, and/or the difficulty of quests that are produced. Take _Slime Island_ as an example of an Epic rarity map. There you can meet _every_ type of slime monster from level 1 to 100 and we even found Metal Slime relatively easily given how extremely rare they are," Benihime answered.

"Oneechan, this map has lower numbers. Does that mean will we go into this one?" Hanabi asked still not understanding any of this given that she hadn't been made into a party member yet thus hadn't been "injected" with the information on how Naruko's gamer abilities worked.

"Yes, Hanabi-chan. Once Naru-kun forms the party will enter the dungeon," Hinata nodded.

"Actually, I have a question before we do that," Naruko announced to the group's surprise. "Benihime, are the weapons and armor I make one-size-fits-all?"

"Hmm, let me look," the fairy said before opening a window and looking around. "Yes, so long as you make them or find them in a dungeon, they'll change the size to accommodate the person. Though for this to happen you'll need a drop of their blood and after the equipment is finished the person will have to feed it some of their chakra so the bond is fully forged. This will help the equipment always fit its owner. However, given that the equipment wouldn't be in your inventory the owner will have to give it proper maintenance. The good news is that if the equipment is broken or heavily damaged, you'll be able to repair it. Oh, and the reason they could be damaged is that they are no longer part of your inventory. Hence, maintenance must be provided."

"That's a lot better than I expected." After saying this Naruko took out three test tubes that she handed to each girl. The girls nodded and with a quick slash of their kunai they sliced their fingers opened to fill the tubes. Of course, Naruko was quick to heal them and stash the blood. "Okay, now a question: Ino-chan, you have an electric plus in your run?"

"Huh? Yeah? There is a free one to the left of the closet. Why?" Instead of answering Naruko took out a multi-plug and connected it. After that, she took out a Box Tv, a NES with a collection of games, and two arcade cabinets. "You really like games, huh?" Ino commented stunned as everything was connected. She also noted the one cabinet read Golden Axe while the other Marvel vs Capcom 2.

"What gave it away?" Naruko asked with a giant grin that made the others chuckle. "Anyway, it's going to take me a while to make all of your new equipment why don't you girls play in the meantime. For the NES the 2-players games I have are Super Mario Bros. 1 to 3, and Contra while for single-player I have Castlevania, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quests, and Legend of Zelda. The arcade cabinets are Golden Axe which is a 4-player side-scroller and Marvel vs Capcom 2 which a 2-player fighting game where each player makes a 3-man tag-team to duke it out for the win. I also change the settings on the machines so you get unlimited continues. That way you don't have to constantly feed it coins each time you run out of lives."

"How did you get these?" Hinata asked while pointing to the cabinets. She recognized what they were thanks to Naruko's description but this was actually her first time seeing one. "I know we got 5000 gold from that mimic but you aren't these machines expensive?"

"Oh, trust me. They are expensive as all hell. But I got lucky when a group of my clones found them dumpster diving. Then with my **Building Mode** and Benihime's knowledge of electronics, we managed to remake them," Naruko answered.

"I'll say that what's really lucky is that dismantling, even damaged or aged items, still give you all of the items. Otherwise, we would have had to wait until you reached level 25 before we could enter _Techo City_ to start to collect microchips and the like," Benihime added.

"Anyway, something tells me none of you have ever played a videogame in so I'm giving you multiple options on what to play. Plus, their simple to understand since the buttons on the arcades say what they do and the NES only has five buttons you can quickly tell what they do from just testing."

"The elders said things like these are nothing but a waste of time," Hanabi mentioned though you could tell she was enthralled by the fighting game's demo of the characters. However, the older girls noticed both gamer and fairy twitch in anger for a moment.

"Yes… video games can be considered a waste of time but that's what makes them fun. The same thing with none educational books," Naruko strained through her teeth and a forced smile.

'_Guess that another sore point,_' both Ino and Hinata thought while throwing side glances at each other. After that, the girls separated with the sisters going for the arcades while Ino chooses the console. The mind walker had also mentioned she had played a little with Choji and Shikamaru as the Akamichi had gotten one last year for his birthday. Hence, she knew how to play a little and she did want to play Super Mario Bros. 3 again. Meanwhile, Naruko pulled out her forge and started making equipment for her friends. Thankfully the magic used in the process didn't heat up the room as the girl worked.

(Sometime later)

_**CLANK!**_

_**CLANG!**_

_**CLINK!**_

Naruko sighed in elation at seeing the last piece for today is completed. Then she put down the hammer and wiped off the sweat from her brow before taking a drink of water. After that Naruko used **Appraisal** on the equipment to see if there was anything special about them.

* * *

{**EQUIPMENT**}

Squishing Chainmail |Unique| (Light Armor) x3

**Description** – A squishy chainmail that will keep you safe, comfortable and cool in battle. The happy slime in your chest fills you with happiness!

+20DEF

15% Heat Resistance

Gooey Gloves [Lv1] |Unique| (Two-handed/Arm Armor) x2

**Description** – Gootiful blue gauntlets with a sweet little slime on the back. They're both strong and keep you cool while punching.

+30ATK

+10DEF

15% Heat Resistance

Gooreat Boots |Unique| (Light Armor) x3

**Description** – A comfy pair of goometal boots with greaves to protect your legs and keeps you cool in a fight. Don't worry, these slimes will protect your knees!

+10DEF

15% Heat Resistance

Iron Dagger [Lv1] |Common| (One-handed)

**Description** – A common and unremarkable dagger made from iron.

+15ATK

Iron Crossbow [Lv1] |Common| (Range)

**Description** – A small bow, mounted on a stock that fires bolts. Use the lever on its side to pull back the string, set the bolt in place and then squeeze the trigger to fire.

+40 Range damage

+15% Armor Piercing Damage

Iron Bolts |Common| x30

**Description** – Iron tipped arrows used by a crossbow.

+15 Range Damage

+10% Armor Piercing Damage

Leather Quiver |Common|

**Description** – A common leather container for holding arrows.

30 max Arrow/Bolt Capacity

Leather Dagger Holster |Common|

**Description** – A regular leather holder attached to a belt for carrying one's daggers. It can be adjusted to hold the weapon on the user's preferred spot.

Flacon Visor |Common| (Accessory/Headgear) x2

**Description** – A white protective face mask shaped in the form of a falcon's face. The strengthened lenses can double as sunglasses.

+10 DEF

+100% Blind Immunity

Purple Orchid Mask |Common| (Accessory/Headgear)

**Description** – A light purple protective face mask in a masquerade-styled featuring a deep purple orchid on the left side of the face. It possesses a hidden dial just above the flower to regulate its fragrance.

+10 DEF

+5% Evasion

Kitsune Mask |Common| (Headgear)

**Description** – A traditional mask honoring the ever intelligent and mischievous fox. Are you going to be a good-natured soul or a naughty little trickster?

+10DEF

+5INT

* * *

'_Wow, so this tier of slime theme equipment is heat resistance? Guess that would explain why it feels cold to the touch. I better test it out on my scythe. __**Appraisal**__! Yep, it also has a plus fifteen percent heat resistance. Though it weird that it didn't turn into a water element weapon. Then again normal slimes aren't classified as water elementals,_' Naruko analyzed while looking at the new equipment. "Girls! I'm done," she called out just in time to see Hanabi almost throw the NES controller into the TV after getting a Game Over in Contra if not for Hinata snatching the controller first. "Aww, babies first gamer-rage! That's so cute!" If looks could kill Hanabi's would have made the Uzumaki and everything behind her disappeared from existence. "Oh, and thanks for saving my TV, Hinata-chan."

"No worries, Naru-kun. Now Hanabi-chan, please be mindful of your anger and don't go breaking other people's stuff," Hinata reprimanded and set down the controller.

"I understand Oneechan. Sorry Uzumaki-san," Hanabi said with head bowed down. This made Naruko chuckle as she waved off the apology.

"Don't worry, Hanabi-chan. Nothing was broken. Plus, I know just how cheap that game is with its 1-hit deaths, and only giving you three continues. Truth be told I have yet to beat myself because of it."

"Why not use that Konami Code? Those extra 30 lives should be enough to beat it," Benihime answered and blinked as three pairs of confused eyes looked at her. Ino wasn't paying attention she to busy on the sixth stage of MvC2. "Oh, right. I forgot videogames are still new here given they had to summon them from across time and space through special seals. Don't worry, once we're back from the dungeon I'll teach it to you, okay?"

"You better," Naruko commanded with an excited grin. Then she called out "Yo, Ino! Stop drooling over those pixelated muscles and look at your new armor!" Of course, that comment distracted the heiress enough to lose the fight after realizing she had, in fact, made her team of the guys with the most exposed skin and biggest muscles. Hence, after getting KO'd, she turned to Naruko with a glare and a blush that could be hidden under the guise of anger. Once the group gathered Naruko first gifted Ino and Hanabi their armor and she explained to them the cooling effect the armor had. After the girls grabbed their equipment, the first thing they noticed was that blue chainmail was as light as a normal shirt and as easy to put on. They did chuckle at the white smiling slime painted in the center of the chainmail. Next, the two put on the boots the covered their shins and knees.

"It feels so soft and bouncy," Hanabi gasped at feeling the gel surround her feet and toes. Ino for her part noticed that the gelatinous metal let her freely wiggle her toes. Then she got up to throw a couple of kicks to test out her movements.

"Wow, even my sandals don't feel this comfortable when kicking. Nice job Pumpkin," Ino praised and also tested out the gauntlets with the same results. "Too bad the blue doesn't match with my midriff but this chainmail is way better than my bandages."

"Actually, all Naruko needs is a cup of paint to change the color of the armor and weapons," Benihime informed casually. The short blacksmith blinked at this before smiling and quickly pulling out a bucket of royal purple paint. Everyone but the fairy raised an eyebrow.

"You just carry a bucket of paint with you around all of the time?" Ino asked but still handed back her equipment.

"My inventory is limitless and separated into categories with the healing and battle items always at the top. Therefore I see no reason why I should leave my house without my pranking supplies," Naruko answered with a smirk. Then, after opening the paint can and dipping a plastic cup into it, a new window popped up informing her that she unlocked the equipment shading option. There she quickly selected all of Ino's armor pieces and the group got to see the three cups of paint disappear as armor slowly changed color. "Okay, I'll admit it. They do look a lot better in purple."

"But of course, they do! It is _my_ favorite color," Ino commented as she admired her new chainmail. It still had the white silhouette of a smiling slime in the middle of the chest but that could be covered with her crop top and the now purple rings matched oh so perfectly. The same could be said for her new gauntlets and armored boots. Then she noticed Naruko pull out another can with the Uzumaki's favorite color. Moments later the small gamer was decked out in her new armor. "You do realize that mix of dark orange and black outlines make you look like more of Pumpkin, right?" In response, Naruko just stuck her tongue out before turning back to the youngest Hyuga.

"Want me to change yours, Hanabi-chan?" Hearing the question Hanabi thought for a moment but in the end, decided against it since she liked the design for now. "I see. Well, I still have more gifts. First will be Hanabi-chan with this Iron Dagger and its accompanying holster."

"Why do I need a dagger?"

"If you were to fight your sister while she uses her naginata which would you prefer: fighting barehanded or with a weapon that could block her blade?" Remembering who strong the older sister looked while wielding the spear and the reach it gave her the younger sibling accepted the dagger without further protest. "That's what I thought. Now Ino-chan, here is a protective mask for the pretty face of yours." Seeing the mask made Ino gasps in astonishment over the simple yet elegant design of the mask. The way the mask was crafted and paint made it seem like the flower's purple pedals were being spread across it by the wind over its surface. Speaking of the flower, it was an enchanting shade of purple with the pedals' texture feeling life-like.

"Naruko… this is beautiful… How did you make this with just a hammer? And this flower! It feels just like the real thing," Ino said before unconsciously taking a sniff. "Hey! This is the real thing! Where did you get a wild moth orchid? They aren't in season yet."

"I got them in the dungeon when we looking for thigs for my greenhouse, remember?" Naruko informed with a smirk. "It also helps that the magic used to forge that mask has the side-effect of stopping time for that flower. Meaning it will never wither and die. Its scent, however, can be turned on, off, or change in intensity by the dial hidden just above the flower. Anyway, try it on! The mask is enchanted like the ANBU so it will stick to your face without the need for strings."

"Controlling the strength of a flower's scent with the touch of a button? I'll never stop getting surprised by that bloodline of yours, will I?" Ino commented with a shake of her head. Then she placed the mask on which easily placed itself on her and came off without discomfort. Then Ino went to the vanity mirror and did a few generic sexy poses to test out how it made her look. "Damn, this mask makes me look like the sexy villainess from an anime. I kind of like it." Hearing this the girls chuckled lightly in agreement before Naruko showed the Hyuga sisters their mask.

"After making the armor and weapons my blacksmithing skill leveled up and gave me recipes for a lot of masks. While looking through the list I found these falcon masks or visors as the games call them. I thought it would be perfect for you two since the lenses will protect your eyes and the bird of prey motif would go well with the whole "All-seeing eye" your clan likes to say. The lenses are strong enough to stop a kunai or shuriken, block light even better than most sunglasses and they also work as one-way mirrors. You'll be to see everything but people wouldn't be able to see your eyes. It could even hide the fact you're a Hyuga all together," Naruko informed in a proud tone.

The sisters grabbed their new headgear and looked them over. They couldn't understand the system considers these as visors instead of a mask since it covered their eyes, part of their forehead and nose with the small beak extension but guess it was just a quirk of it. Then when they put them on the experience was the same as Ino when their masks attached and de-attached to their skin without a problem. Adding to this, both Hyuga noticed that once their field of vision wasn't obstructed and that the lenses didn't conflict with their Byakugan.

"Incredible," Hinata gasped right before both sisters smiled and engulfed Naruko in a hug. "Oh, Naru-kun, this is incredible! For us dojutsu users our eyes are one of our most precious tools and you just gave us the perfect protection! Thank you!"

"Thank you Naru-nee!" Hanabi added from Naruko's waist. Had this been a normal occasion the whiskered girl would have celebrated at having won the little sister's approval. However, this wasn't a normal occasion. The reason being that when Hinata let her emotions take hold she forgot the height gap between them. Hence, instead of hugging Naruko's arm, the taller girlfriend end embracing the jinchuriki's head and consequently pressed it to her chest. It didn't take long for Naruko's brain to register that her significant other wasn't wearing any armor under her new light lavender jacket.

"Hey Hinata-chan," Ino called out softly but grinning ear to ear. "I can imagine you're proud of your twins but you should let the girl breath." Hearing this Hinata blinked under her visor before looking down. Sure enough, the bluenette found her secret girlfriend buried deep between her breasts. Both females were blushing the shade of roses before Hinata managed to let go. Next, she somehow managed to backpedal on her knees. Then sat down and fainted exactly like a statue being tipped over on its side.

"Oneechan!" Hanabi yelled and dash to her sister in worry while Ino and Benihime laughed. Naruko for her part hid her burning face behind her hands.

'_OH. DEAR. KAMI-SAMA! How could they feel soft?! Kyaaaaah!_' the little Uzumaki panic like the protagonist of a shoujo manga.

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Inside Naruko's mindscape]

Unbeknownst to Naruko and everyone that knew her status as a jinchuriki the Kyubi wasn't sleeping. In fact, it had become conscious ever since its warden visited the jail and thus had been silently watching the girl's progress ever since. The fox still considered the girl to be an utter weakling but did agree that she at least knew how to fight her way out of a paper bag. Someone that in its mind only a few humans could do with any form of finesse. This also meant the demon had witnessed the little Hyuga fighting its chakra to save the Uzumaki. That event did pick the fox's intrigue since few could handle its chakra and even less in the literal way that the Hyuga could.

However, that also meant the demon was there for the Uzumaki's first orgasm under those damn fingers.

As many people imagen and collaborate such physical reaction puts a person's mind in disarray. Problem is that in a mindscape were any thought can and will become reality expressions like "mind went blank" are literal occurrences. Hence when the Hyuga gave its warden the little-death the mindscape went with it. In its stead, all the Kyubi was left with an infinite white void where the only law governing it was gravity which forced the fox to fall in perpetuity. The first few seconds had actually managed to surprise Kyubi but it got old fast. Thus, the strongest of the nine tail demons found itself in a situation where it was forced to wait out the free fall for however long it took the Uzumaki's mind to return. During the wait the demon expected many things like say crashing into the ground like a meteor or that the world simply returns around it like nothing ever happen.

What the fox didn't expect was hearing the roar of fast-moving water.

Understandably Kyubi made it turn around just in time to see a pink tsunami about ten times its sizes. The demon only had time to open its maw in confusion before it found itself being engulfed and batter around by a sea of pink cartoon hearts. How long the Kyubi was drowning in love it didn't know but it was safe to say it was enough to nearly be purified. Thankfully for the tail beast, the mindscape went back to normal before that would happen. However, it took the fox time to regain its strength as it coughed and puked thousands and thousands of kiloliters of cartoon hearts. From that day on Kyubi bowed to hate the one name Hinata Hyuga if only so it wouldn't be completely purified the next time something like this happened.

And happen again it did!

Although thankfully it wasn't a tsunami, love had kept flooding the mindscape each time the couple did something romantic. To the Kyubi's horror, it found out that each act of love transformed the mindscape into a representation of love. An example of this being holding hands turning the grass pink and flowers became lilies. Next came the hugs that equally all the trees blooming into sakura trees. However, the worse one had been when the girlfriends kissed each other's hands or cheeks as this cause it to rain those damn hearts which forced the Kyubi to create an umbrella big enough to cover it as it curled up into a ball. Never before had the demon fox's life been such torture.

"**And yet I forgot everything can get worst,**" the Kyubi growled but it couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. After all, it was currently being crushed like an ant between a pair of gigantic plump mountains. "**I know you can hear me right now but… STOP THINKING ABOUT TITS YOU USELESS LESBIAN!**"

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Back in Ino's room]

It took a couple of moments and a bag of smelling salt for Hinata regain consciousness. After doing so she quickly asked Ino for the bathroom and once the location was given Hinata took Hanabi so they could properly change into their armor. This left a grinning Ino and Benihime alone with the still flushed Naruko.

"So," Ino started and dragged the word out "When are you going to ask her out?"

"What?!" Naruko squeaked more due to her still skipping heart than the question. Ino, however, took the reaction as confirmation of her suspicion.

"Oh come on, now. You're brave enough to face monsters and reattach your limbs after it was cut off yet asking the girl you like on a date is too difficult?"

"It not like that," Naruko responded '_I mean, Hinata-chan was the one that made the first move._'

"What then? Are you afraid of your social standing? Sure, she's a shinobi princess and you're considered the village pariah due to stupid thinking of adult but who gives a craps! Thanks to the insane bloodline of yours it's easy to see you'll become a freaking legend. Heck, I bet you don't even need to be shinobi to make more money than anyone. Just go into one of your dungeons get everything of value and sell it or use it to make even better things and then sell those for greater profit. You would be rich in no time and then you could simply buy the Hyuga clan's favor to date Hinata," the Yamanaka heiress suggestion which earns her a glare from the Uzumaki.

"Hinata-chan is a person, not something you can just buy at the store," Naruko proclaimed which made her fellow blonde smile sadly.

"True but she's also the daughter of the head of a shinobi clan. Being treated as a reward, bargaining chip, grand price, or accommodation comes part and parcel for girls like us. The only reason I get to be a free as I'm now is that dad actually thinking of me as a person first, his baby daughter second, and the Heiress of the Yamanaka Clan a distant third. Otherwise I would've had fiancé by now at best and forced into marriage after graduation at worst," Ino informed.

"So, you're saying I better start making money. Then I leverage the access to that wealth as my bargaining chip to win Hinata-chan's family over?" Naruko asked and Ino nodded.

"Yep. Look I know how it sound and trusts me when I tell you I hate it too but it's at least a starting point. Plus, if you want to make a move, I suggest you start now. From what we've hear it seems Hinata is on bad terms with her family outside of Hanabi-chan. Hence, there is a good chance they already have an arranged marriage prepared for her or are just waiting for her to finally feel happy before they send her off to marry some asshole out of spite."

"Okay, I'm an orphan so maybe I have a glorified idea of what a family is but I seriously doubt they would do that," Naruko commented but blinked when Ino rolled her eyes and scuffed.

"Ignorance is a blessing, honey. But if you don't believe me, I'll have to introduce you to my aunty sometime. Then she can tell you all about how her mother almost killed her for being a lesbian and refusing to marry a lord almost twice her age," Ino scuffed with displeasure. Then Yamanka got up and grabbed the Uzumaki shoulder. "Now I'll need you out of my room."

"Huh?" was all Naruko ask before she was easily thrown out of the room. Thankfully she managed to spin enough to land on her feet. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Because I'm going to change and I don't want to give your gay ass a show," Ino answered with a smirk and used her mental powers to close the door in Naruko's face which was blushing from the comment.

"Damn tease."

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

[Yamanaka's Bathroom]

Hinata was currently helping secure Hanabi's gauntlets and armor boot but could feel her sister gaze.

"You like Naru-nee, don't you Oneechan?" the little sister asked and the older one to stiffen. Then Hinata sighed and took off her visor to look at her.

"Can you keep a secret for me?" Once the little firework nodded the bluenette smile. "I think I love her, Hanabi-chan. Just being around her makes me the happiest I've ever been. I know she's a girl but I just want to spend all the time I can with her and simply enjoy the little thing."

"~_You have a crush~_," Hanabi sang and her sister chuckled.

"Well, she _is_ my girlfriend. So I would hope that would be the." At hearing this the younger sibling's eyes widen in surprise. This made Hinata chuckle and she did a shush motion. "Yes, Naru-kun and I are boyfriend and girlfriend with the only difference being that we're both the girlfriend. But I'm going to need you to keep it a secret from the elders until I tell them. That way they wouldn't be able to separate us and you will get a cool big sister in law. Is that okay?" This request was answered with excited nodding. "Good, now let's finish putting on our armor and go on an adventure."

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(Sometime later)

[Ino's bedroom]

The group had gathered back in the room ready in their armor and weapons. Hinata was now in her full blue and golden outline Valkyrie armor with the new armored boots attached to her greaves and her falcon style visor on her face. Hanabi, just like her sister, wasn't wearing a jacket so her new armor and visor were visible while also wearing dark blue pants instead of a skirt. She selected to place the holstered dagger on her right hip. Ino was the one that looked the most similar to her regular self as she was wearing midriff blouse over the chainmail, her slit skirt below that and still wrapped bandages around her legs until they reach the purple armored boots. This was also when the group saw that Naruko had chosen to go with just her black jacket over the chainmail. However, what really got their attention was the Naruko's new fox mask, the belt secured from left to right on her chest and the quiver hanging on her right hip.

"You're really using a fox mask?" Ino asked with a smirk.

"Thanks to video game rules it has more defense than my leather helmet and it also has +5 INT. Regretfully I can't wear my glasses while wearing the mask over my face," Naruko explained.

"When did you get that crossbow, Naru-kun?" Hinata asked after seeing her girlfriend's back. In response Naruko pull out the crossbow and showed it to everyone.

"I made it after making Hanabi's dagger. I don't know how to use it yet but I thought it would better to have a long-range weapon just in case. I mean sure, we have kunai and shuriken to throw but what if I need more precision or the enemy has armor? That's where this bad boy comes in," she explained, patting the mechanical bow made of wood and iron. Then the blonde holster it on her back, formed the party, and created two shadow clones. "Okay, now that we're prepared, I'm going to establish some rule. First, on paper, I'll remain the leader so that enemies wouldn't run away on sight. Second, Ino-chan will be our actual leader today and we'll follow her orders."

"Why am I the leader? Wouldn't you or Hinata-chan be better?"

"Simple, I'm always the leader by default, and Hinata-chan was the leader during our gathering excursion. Hence, I think it's your time to give the orders. Besides, this will be a good time to practice your leadership skills in case we end up on different teams," Naruko explained and the girls nodded. Then she told the two clones to guard the Adventuring Atlas while the team traveled. After this she went to open the map but a message appeared. "Huh?" she vocalized as the girls read.

* * *

**~ UPDATE: Let my people speak! ~**

[Version 1.01]

Due to feedback from party members about NPCs' lack of interactions the system has worked on improving their AI. These are the following fixes being made:

\- NPCs will now talk to other party members

\- NPCs will react in self-defense if attacked

\- NPCs will turn hostile if they catch the player stealing

\- NPCs can die as a result of a player's actions and/or inactions

\- NPCs' death is permeant and all possible questlines related to said NPCs can be lost

Other notable fixes:

\- Redundancy in between the field skills **Toolmaking**, **Infiltration toolmaking**, and **Trap Making** has been addressed. These three have been joined into one category called **Toolmaking** and as compensation, the skill will start at level 5. A workbench may still be needed for some recipes.

* * *

"That… That's new. Is this supposed to happen, Beni-chan?"

"Starting with the seventh generation of video consoles like the 360, PS3 and Wii it became standard practice to update games to fix problems that came after the games were released. Though I wasn't expecting the system to act this way as well. Seems the system evolved to give you a more realistic experience when dealing with others."

"Guess that explained the headache I had this morning," Naruko commented while she closed the window. With this done the map was finally and the group was transported.

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

(Adventure map – **Village of Lunaria**)

Once the group felt the ground below their feet, they had to wait for a little to regain their senses due to the teleportation induce nausea. Thankfully the wait wasn't long and the girls noticed they were on top of a stone platform with a seal that stopped glowing. After this, they looked around and saw they were in a small rural village with about ten wooden houses at most. The next thing they noticed was that they could only see men and young boys walking around. They also looked worried or in complete despair. However, before anyone could ask what was going on a man came running to them.

"Oh! Thank the Goddess for her mercy! You've finally come to help us noble adventures. I almost lost hope that our message to the guild-"

"Wait sir! Please stop! We aren't members of any guild. We're just travelers with fighting skills however we are willing to listen. I just wanted you to know so we wouldn't get in trouble for impersonating an official organization," Naruko interrupted. The man looked crestfallen at the news but nodded and lead them to his house. There the group learned that this man was the Villager Leader and the reason there were no women. Turns out that an evil mage had moved into the abandoned castle, taken control of the monsters in it, and used them to kidnap the women in search of either a bride or a sacrifice for his dark arts.

"Please," the leader begged. "I know that you're not part of the guild but I appreciate it if you provide your help. If needed, we'll pay double the normal reward. Please, we just want our wives, daughters, and granddaughters back."

* * *

**~ New Quest ~**

[_Recue of the flowers_]

[**Description**: A mage has fallen into darkness and kidnapped the women of Lunaria. Should your team choose to accept the request it will be your job to bring the women back and hopefully alive.]

[Rescued Villagers: 0/15]

[**Rewards**: 100 Gold coins, animal hide x10, and a crate of vegetables]

[Accept quest?]

[YES/NO]

* * *

"Well, Ino-chan? You're the leader. What do you think?" Naruko asked.

"We're helping them of course," Ino said with a small glare directed a the Uzumaki. However, that stopped almost immediately and she turned back to the leader. "But I have to ask. Why not form an attack force with the available men?"

"We have a few hunters but none of us are really fighters," the leader explained and shook his head. "Plus, none here can truly read or write hence do not have a mage of our own to combat the evil one's magic. Forming an attack force would just result in us dying and leaving our children without protection."

"Do you know anything about the monsters in the area or what we should expect of the castle?" Hinata asked.

"Most of what you'll find in these parts are slime, wolves, bunicorns, bears, or living plant-type monsters. As for the castle? Rumor has it that there was a curse placed on it by the fallen lord that no soul will ever escape it. So, there's a good chance it is haunted with all manner of ghost under the evil mage's control."

"Fuck. Why is it always ghosts?" Naruko cursed under her breath. Before she could start shaking Hinata stealthily squeezed her hand reassuringly. Under her fox mask, the Uzumaki smiled and squeezed back.

"I see. Thank you, sir. We'll embark on this mission quickly and get back the women," Ino proclaimed with the group nodding in agreement. After which the girls got up and on Benihime's suggestion went to check the small store in the village. There they bought some medical herbs, food ingredients, and a couple of traps like ropes, nets and bear traps on Naruko request.

"Why do we need those things?" Hanabi asked upon seeing Naruko gleefully put the bear traps in her inventory.

"Have to ever seen what a bear trap does to a watermelon?" the vixen asked and could feel the grin behind the mask.

"Naru-kun, please don't place such dangerous thoughts in my little sister's head," Hinata begged which earned her a chuckle but reassuring promise. After this, the group exited the village and made their way through the forest separating the village from the castle. Surprisingly as they walked through the forest, they hadn't fought any enemies. That was of course until they did encounter a single Slime and Hanabi fell in love with the cute and silly looking creature.

"It's so cute!" the little Hyuga called out with stars in her eyes.

"Hanabi-chan! Don't get close to it!"

"Oh, leave her be. Even if the slime attacks the most it will do is scare her. Her defense is too high to get damaged by it."

"That's still my sister, Naru-kun! I need to protect her!"

"You can't baby her forever Hime. She needs to learn that even cute things can be dangerous." Thus, the secret couple had started their first argument due to conflicting ideology. For the most part, at least, they kept their voices low and calm but Benihime and Ino could feel the frustration mounting as neither wanted to budge from their stance. That was until something caught Ino's eye.

"Girls," she called out but was ignored. "Girls!" Once more Ino was ignored and sighed while rolled her eyes. "Ramen sucks," the mind walking muttered low and plainly.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Naruko screamed and whipped around with eyes almost red. Instead of answering Ino pointed at the laughing Hanabi who was playing with the pink slime. "Wait… that slime was blue a moment ago. Wasn't it?"

"It was but while you two were having a lover's quarrel Hanabi-chan did something and that slime change color. From play Mario Bros, I learned that when things change color like this, they're either dying, getting strong, or both. So yeah, would you mind using that scanning skill of yours on it to see if it became poisonous or something."

"Mochi isn't dangerous," Hanabi announced with a smile while pick up the pinky slime.

"Oh no. She named it," Hinata muttered with worry as her sister continued.

"She was blue but after I gave her one of the sakura-mochi I had sealed in my backpack to eat Mochi glowed a little before turning pink. After that, she started understanding me and playing with me. Can I keep her? Please Hinata-Oneechan?"

"I… I don't know," Hinata told while trying to resist the sad puppy eyes both her sister and the slime were giving her. Naruko, on the other hand, followed Ino's suggestion and used **Scan**.

* * *

Mochi [Lv1] ~ Hanabi Hyuga's pet slime ~

XP: 0/99

HP: 5/5

MP: 20/20

ATK: 001

DEF: 001

SPD: 010

INT: 012

**Description** – Originally Mochi was a simple slime until she met Hanabi Hyuga. Unlike most adventurers, the young Hyuga showed her love and compassion by offering food out of the kindness of her heart. Touched by this she accepted the love offering and became a Pink Slime [+] while swearing to always protect the girl. Thus, by Hanabi's will and love, Mochi was born.

**Techniques**: Tackle and Ooze

**Special Traits**: Making Gummy Hearts

* * *

The group looked on in disbelieved at the information window which explained that the youngest of the group had just managed to tame a monster with nothing but a snack. Then they Naruko's jaws almost hit a floor when she read the information on what a Pink Slime was. The text explained this type of slime was considered one of the rarest species, beating out any metal-sub species, since none had ever been seen in the wild. Instead, they were only seen in captivity, and even then, it took multiple generations for one to appear. The Bestiary also went on to note that this type of slime seemed to always identify itself as female, was incredibly friendly to the person or family that raised her, and liked to express this by making and gifting Gummy Hearts to these people. The text also mentions that these girls, even in their early days, seemed to fully understand any human language and were intelligent enough to give responded through gestures or actions.

"We're keeping her," Naruko finally muttered much to Hanabi's delight and Hinata's worry. "However," she added with a glared directed at Mochi "you better get stronger to help Hanabi-chan and her sister. Because if you don't, I'm personally feeding you to the woodchipper. Do you understand, Mochi?" In response, the pink creature nodded her body and puffed up her cheeks as it to prove she was already strong.

"I guess she really can understand people," Hinata noted with a defeated smile. "Fine. You can keep Mochi but you have to take care of her too, Hanabi-chan."

The little sister promised to do so and the group continued their trek through the forest. It took a couple of more minutes before the found another enemy. This one was a small red and white mushroom with tinny legs moving about. It would have been laughable if the thing hadn't spotted them and immediately unleash a cloud of spores. The group easily dodge the cloud by jumping onto tree branches however that didn't stop the small shroom from trying to smash down one of the trees by ramming itself into it.

"Rather violent little fella isn't he," Ino muttered.

"Yeah, but it's too weak to get up here and the spores are too heavy to get up here," Naruko taunted from her branch.

"JUMP!" Benihime screamed but it was too late as Naruko's face was blasted with a spray of said spores. The force of the spray was enough to knock the girl off the tree and crash land on while complaining how it got into her eyes. However, the weirdest part was seeing a mushroom instantly grow on top of Naruko's head. "Oh no! Everyone! Please defeat the Ramblin' Evil Mushroom quickly so we can heal Naruko-chan before she starts attacking us."

The warning was enough for the team to go into action with Hinata lunching an **Air Palm**, Ino swinging her whip, and Hanabi throwing her dagger. The little creature didn't stand a chance as it was obliterated but the girls ignored the victory screen as the rushed to Naruko. The Uzumaki seemed to be in pain given how much she was shaking and how she hadn't tried to get up from her prone position.

"Naru-kun are you okay?" Hinata asked while activating her Byakugan. This let her see that the mushroom had not just sprouted on the girl's head but seemingly rooted itself completely into her girlfriend's nervous system.

"¡uʍop ƃuᴉɥsnd sdǝǝʞ ʎpoq ʎɯ ʇnq dn puɐʇs oʇ ƃuᴉʎɹʇ ɯ,I ˙uʍop ǝpᴉsdn puɐ pɹɐʍʞɔɐq ɥʇoq slǝǝɟ ƃuᴉɥʇʎɹǝʌƎ ¿ʎɐʞo ɯ,I ǝʞᴉl ʞool ʇᴉ sǝop"

"The hell you just called her?" Ino blanked at whatever Naruko's mouth had said. This question clearly annoyed the whiskered girl given the frown in her face.

"˙llǝʍ ƃuᴉlǝǝɟ ʇou ɯ,I pᴉɐs ʇsnɾ I ¡ƃuᴉɥʇʎuɐ ǝɯᴉH llɐɔ ʇ,upᴉp I ¿ʇnoqɐ ƃuᴉʞlɐʇ noʎ ǝɹɐ ʞɔnɟ ǝɥʇ ʇɐɥM"

"Give it up Naruko-chan," Benihime interjected before a fight broke out. "You've been Mushroomized. That means out of battle your controls are backward and it seems that also affected your speech as well. Normally a doctor could heal it for a fee or a mushroom collector could extract it pay us for it however I didn't see either back in the village. Thankfully I haven't used my **Saving Grace** yet so I can heal this one quickly. Regretfully that also means that after this I wouldn't be able to heal anyone in trouble, Therefore, please be careful."

"Good going Shroom-Head," Ino joked and laughed at the reversed talk cursing thrown at her. However, before the fairy could start the incantation Mochi jumped out of Hanabi's arms and onto Naruko's back. Before the group what the pink slime was doing she starts shaking violently until she melts into a puddle that is quickly absorbed by the Uzumaki's body. They gasped thinking the worst until Hinata, who still had her Byakugan active, notice the pink slime was eating away at the roots of the mushroom as it traveled through Naruko's body. Then in a matter of seconds, that felt like hours, the invading fungi was pushed out of the jinchuriki's head right before Mochi shot herself out of Naruko's ear, reformed and eat the last bit of mushroom. After eating parasite, the slime girl shivered and made a disgusted face before turning to the group with a smug "Praise me" look on her face.

"What just happened?" Ino asked as Hanabi hugged her pet.

"Mochi save Naru-nee!" Hanabi praise and Mochi vibrated happily from the paise.

"I saw that but that still doesn't answer how?" Ino demanded while Hinata helps Naruko stand up.

"Besides their magic core a slime doesn't _have_ any internal organs. Yet they need to eat at least once a month to gain nutrients so they developed an internal dissolvent liquid that can break down nearly anything. My guess is that Mochi used her **Ooze** skill to liquefy and enter Naruko as we saw. Then she somehow controlled that solvent to eat the mushroom without damaging Naruko's body," Benihime explained.

"Yeah and now everything smells and tastes like strawberries to be me. Still thank you for that save Mochi," Naruko said after getting back to her feet. "By the way, we agree that those mushrooms now have a kill on sight order, right?" The group nodded in agreement before they continued through the forest. Thankfully they few enemies they found were quickly defeated and it gave Hanabi a chance to test out her new dagger. Naruko also pointed out to the group each victory was powering up Mochi as by the time the castle could be seen on the outskirts of the forest the slime had reached level 3.

"I wonder how much stronger can Mochi become?" Hinata asked as she saw the small blob did a victory dance after the group dispatched a pack of wolves.

"I don't know. Even if she's a rare sub-species Mochi is just a slime. They aren't that strong, to begin with," Naruko answered after getting the loot and closing the victory window. "It's a shame really. There exist a bunch of other types of slime monsters that can be so much stronger."

"She can still evolve into those," Benihime added and smirked when everyone's head whipped towards her. "I hadn't said anything because I thought Naruko-chan would be the first one to tame a monster. However, now that Hanabi-chan found Mochi-san and the question has been made I can talk about the pet progression. Pets can evolve into higher versions of their families given time. However, a few factors must be met before the evolution takes place. One, the monster has to reach a specific level of power. Two, the trainer has to feed/give them the required materials for the evolution ritual. And number three, the creature and their trainer must complete a challenge before or during the ritual."

"Does this mean Mochi can become exceptionally strong?" Ino inquired and Benihime nodded. The fairy then summoned a scroll and handed it to the youngest Hyuga.

"That scroll holds the evolution chart for Mochi with the information of the three factors needed for each form. It also shows the specialty of the evolutions to make it easier for you to choose how Mochi can grow. Please note that de-evolution is possible but you'll need a De-Evolution Stone of different levels depending on the tier of the evolution and it will reset Mochi's level to the minimum needed for the previous form. Also, the materials needed for the previous evolution will not be reimbursed. The stones can be bought in the game shop Naruko-chan has access to so you can ask her for the prices."

The youngest Hyuga smile and thanked the fairy with a bowed before giving the scroll to her big sister for safekeeping. The group then moved past the few trees left to reach the castle but stopped just before the last line. From this position, the group could see that the castle was rather small. Ino asked for a pair of binoculars in the off chance that Naruko had any which the Uzumaki did. However, Hanabi was quick to point out that they didn't need those when they had two Byakugan users. Ino was about to concede when everyone _heard __**and**__ saw _the literal lightbulb blink on top of Naruko's head. Normally that would have been the point Ino would have cursed the whiskered girl's ability to bend reality but was stopped by the feeling of the girl's excited grin under the fox mask.

"What are you planning?" Ino asked/accused like a mother knowing their child is about to do something extremely stupid and knowing she couldn't stop them. Instead of answering Naruko just handed the binoculars to Hinata with eyes full of hopeful wonder.

"Use this conjunction with your Byakugan," Naruko said while almost vibrating with anticipation. Under her falcon visor, Hinata blinked and blushed a little at how cute her girlfriend was being.

'_Curse her cuteness! I can't say no when she's like this,_' Hinata thought had to use all of her will not stop herself from smooch the girl right there and then.

"Why would Oneechan need that? Those are useless for us since the Byakugan would just look straight through," Hanabi argued only to be on the receiving end of Naruko's grin.

"How do you know? Has anyone in your clan ever tried it?" For a moment the young Juken user opened her mouth to retort but stop. As she thought about it Hanabi realized she had _never_ heard or seen anyone in the clan using any sort of magnifying glass. Thinking deeper anything that should help one's sight seemed to be frowned upon give the time she heard some adults saying things like glasses being useless for their perfect eyes. This train of thought brought about many questions for the young girl with the main one being: Why is it bad to use something that makes you see better?

"First you turn Hinata-chan in a spear-wielding rebel and now you're corrupting Hanabi-chan with the evils of magnifying glasses. Careful there, Pumpkin. If you keep trying to help and improve things by showing that some traditions are okay to left behind you'll soon find yourself with a target on your back," Ino joked at seeing that once more the Uzumaki's out of the box thinking had claimed another victim.

"Let them bring it! By the time they realize I've poisoned their cute princesses with the idea of freedom I'll have already made a steady supply of Explosive Arrows," Naruko chuckled back and the group chuckled. Still, Hinata grabbed the binoculars and lifted her visor to used them. Once they were in the proper position, she used the dial trick to concentrate all of the Byakugan's sight forward. Her jaw almost dropped at what she could see.

"It… It works," Hinata whispered in astonishment. In response, Naruko, Benihime, and Mochi cheered, Hanabi saw her sister in awe and Ino rolled her eyes while muttering something about overpowered bloodlines mixing. Then Hinata started snapping her fingers "Please, I need a pencil and paper to make a map. I don't know how long I can keep my eyes open like this!" Hearing this Naruko pulled out the need items before they exploded into chakra dust and then reformed into a blank window before Hinata. This Benihime explained was a cartography screen from one to draw a map. Thus, Hinata started to make the map of the castle as she could see it. The process wasn't quick and more than once Hinata had to stop to rest her eyes. Thankfully between the Eye Drops healing items Naruko had bought previously back home plus the Uzumaki's **First-Aid** and **M-Pathy** spells the bluenette was able to finish the layout of the castle without damaging her eyes.

"Okay, I have to admit this is both incredibly amazing and totally terrifying, Hinata-chan. I think you just became the Elemental Nation's greatest infiltrator," Ino noted as she scrolled through the maps of the castle. The from this they could see that the structure had four floors: the ground floor, the 2nd floor, the small 3rd floor, and the basement. The map details every corridor, wall, room, hidden area, treasure chests, and even the traps. Not only that but it showed that the basement was where all of the villager women were being held while the uppermost floor was the location of the boss room and consequently the evil mage.

"Thank you. Ino-chan. But now we had to make our plan of attack," Hinata said before adding "Oh, and don't worry Hanabi-chan. I'll make sure to teach you how to use your Byakugan like this. It can be taxing but I'm sure you'll be able to do it." Hearing this made the younger sister grin and cheered which was imitated by her gelatinous partner.

"Nice to see the knowledge being spread but let's start planning," Ino said while looking through the castle layout. "The women are in the basement while the boss is at the top. Should we separate and strike at two fronts or climb the walls and kill the leader first?"

"That wouldn't work," Naruko commented pointed at the map of the third floor. "See that lock before the Boss Room? I'm willing to bet my last copper that no matter how much we try we wouldn't be able to bust through it. That means we need a special key for it." With this, she moved to the map on the second floor. "See these two rooms: one small one with a giant chest and the one before it that looks empty? That whole area screams important so we should get there first. It probably holds the key we need though also means will have to fight a mini-boss."

"Why would you lock a key inside a chest?" Hanabi asked.

"Videogame logic," both Naruko and Benihime shrugged. This caused Hinata to giggle slightly while Ino rolled her eyes but she still smirked.

"Okay, you two get that win. But we can still climb the castle walls, right? Pumpkin can use her clones to carry Hanabi-chan and me since we don't know the wall climbing technique."

"Actually, Hanabi-chan does know it since our clan forces us to learn perfect chakra control from a young age. However, that still wouldn't work as the walls are coated in seals a little similar to that anti-magic barrier we encountered at the tower. The only difference being that instead of a circular barrier surrounding the whole castle is just a membrane covering the surface of the walls. Think of it as the walls being coated in oil."

"Dammit," Ino cursed before sighing "Guess this means we're storming the castle through the front gate instead of being sneaky like proper ninjas. However, that still leaves the prisoners. Hinata-chan, did you notice anything strange in the cells?"

"Now that you mention it, yes. That chains keeping the woman there had the same type of chakra as the boss room. Naru-kun, is it safe to assume that means we can't move them without defeating the mage first?"

"That's more than likely but this feels like a trap to me. I've played Metal Slug in the arcades and there the POWs are scattered throughout the level. Here they're all in a single area held by chains connected to the evil mage's power. That could either mean they cannot be freed so long as he remains or their life is connected to him."

"Then we should separate after all," Ino suggested. "That way one team can protect the women while the other deals with the bad guy. Plus, while you were making around armor, we talked to Benihime and she showed us how to call one another using your Friend List. Therefore, we can keep in contact with each other will in two different areas. As for the teams, I think the best setups are Hanabi-chan, Mochi, a group of shadow clones and me on guard duty while Pumpkin and Hinata-chan destroy that monster."

"May I ask why?" Hinata questioned. While she liked that idea of having alone time with her favorite girl that didn't mean she was okay with leaving her sister like that. Sure, each day Ino was proving she was both trustworthy and a good friend however Hinata couldn't just forget all of the years she saw the girl neglected her training. Seemingly reading her mind Ino chuckled in understanding.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan. I've been making sure to train like I should have been all of this team and then some. I'm nowhere near your level yet but I'm not going to let anything happen to Hanabi-chan. Plus we'll have a bunch of shadow clones backing us up," the Yamanaka princess reassured with a thumbs up.

"Don't worry Oneechan. I'm strong enough to defend myself here and I'll have Mochi, Ino-nee, and Naruko-nee's clones protecting me! You can go up there and kick the bad guy's butt," Hanabi said and her pet smile nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry Hime. She's in good hands," Naruko added while putting an encouraging hand on the bluenette's shoulder. Seeing she was outnumbered Hinata could only sigh but smiled all the same.

"Fine. But I still want you to be careful young lady," Hinata told and her little sister agreed.

"Guess we have a plan," the Yamanaka noted before grinning and putting her fist forward. "Let's show these monsters what we kunoichi can do!" All of the girls grinned at the cheesiness of the gesture but joined in on the group fist bump.

Their first rescue mission was about to begin!

~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~ X ~

**A/N:**

Originally, I wanted to give it more action but instead, it turned to be about the girls interacting with each other and forming strategy. Guess friendship, videogames, and battle preparation won this round. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this episode and keep yourself safe during these times.


End file.
